Williams hits the track with FW47

Williams has followed McLaren with an early launch and shakedown of its 2025 car, with the FW47 hitting the track at Silverstone.

One day after the 2024 constructors’ champions ran the MCL39 at the home of the British Grand Prix, Williams delivered a live launch event at the same venue that saw the FW47 roll out for a shakedown during a global broadcast.

Carlos Sainz was first behind the wheel of his new car following his switch from Ferrari, with the Spaniard completing initial installation laps on another cold but largely dry day in the UK. Sainz described everything as operating as expected during the first runs, although his opening laps took place on full wet tires.

The approach is a significant departure from recent Williams car deliveries, with the 2024 car being completed late and the team not having a spare chassis in the early part of last season. This time around, the car has hit the track more than 10 days before the start of pre-season testing in Bahrain.

The FW47 was unveiled in a special blue and black livery solely for the shakedown on Valentine’s Day, with the 2025 race livery being launched as part of the F1 75 event in London next week,

The launch event also included more discussion about new title partner Atlassian, with team principal James Vowles describing the deal as potentially one of the biggest in Formula 1.

Alex Albon will also drive the FW47 later on Friday, with Vowels calling the new car an evolution of last year’s design, with the team focusing on improving its performance in high-speed corners.

Topics

williams

Formula 1

Chris Medland

While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.

Read Chris Medland's articles