Williams reveals 2023 livery and new Gulf partnership

Williams will go into the 2023 season with a largely unchanged colour scheme, despite the arrival of new partner Gulf.

There was speculation the team would lean heavily into the Gulf sponsorship in its livery, similar to the one-off design McLaren ran at the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix.

However, Gulf’s representation on the car is limited to a logo in front of the cockpit, while the familiar blue, black and red of last year’s Williams has been retained.

Underneath the paintwork, Williams is hoping to make significant progress with an evolution of its aerodynamic concept for 2023, although the new car will not be revealed until it hits the track for a filming day at Silverstone on February 13.

On presenting its 2023 livery on Monday, Williams teased some of the aerodynamic changes on the new car.

“The floor edges have been raised to satisfy the updated 2023 FIA Technical Regulations and the team has taken the opportunity to heavily evolve the sidepod concept, which has been made possible by optimising the power unit cooling layout. There are also modifications to the front suspension layout as well as the major external aerodynamic surfaces.

“As a result, the FW45 is more aerodynamically efficient than the FW44, with more overall downforce and improved handling characteristics.”

Williams enters the new season with American rookie Logan Sargeant joining Alex Albon in the team’s driver line-up and new team principal James Vowles arriving from Mercedes on February 20.

“As Williams Racing continues its transformation, we’re proud to unveil this year’s livery,” Matthew Savage, the chairman of Williams’ parent company Dorilton, said. “We are excited about this year’s car, and I cannot thank the entire team at Grove enough for their hard work to get ready for the season.

“I am delighted to welcome both new and existing partners to our journey. With our new Team Principal James Vowles joining us later this month, as well as our exciting driver line up of Alex and Logan, Williams Racing will be giving its all in 2023.”