Williams FW43B revealed with heavily-revised livery

Williams had planned to present its new car via an augmented reality app, only for hackers to force the team to abandon the idea and remove the app from digital platforms.

The team issued the first renders of the FW43B on Friday afternoon, revealing a striking new livery design for the new car that will be raced by George Russell and Nicholas Latifi.

While the front of the car has retained its largely white-base design, the rear looks completely different, sporting a blue striped pattern that also incorporates the Williams ‘W’ logo.

The livery is also accompanied by some yellow elements around the sidepods, bulkhead and front wing endplates.

Williams FW43B

Photo by: Williams

2021 marks Williams’ first full season since its takeover by American investment group Dorilton Capital in August, which led to an overhaul of its senior management team.

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The exit of the Williams family led to Simon Roberts taking over as team principal, while former Volkswagen motorsport chief Jost Capito has joined as CEO.

“Williams Racing is a sporting icon, and a team that has forged a reputation of success through sheer determination and grit intertwined with innovation, passionate and skilful race-craft and an absolute desire to win,” Capito said.

“Highs and lows are typical in any long-established sporting brand’s journey and historic success can be a strong motivator, but it cannot be relied upon to define future success in the modern era of Formula 1.

“Therefore, we have created a fresh new livery for the 2021 car; one that acknowledges our incredible past and retains the spirit, drive and motivation that remains at the core of Williams’ DNA yet looks to the future and signposts our long-term ambition to return to the front of the grid.

Williams FW43B

Photo by: Williams

“Whilst we are just starting out on this journey and there is still a lot of work to do, we are happy to see momentum in the right direction and look forward to continuing that progress on track this season.”

Besides Capito, Williams has also been boosted by the return of 2009 world champion Jenson Button, who serves as an official advisor to the team he debuted with in 2000.

The team has finished last in the constructors’ championship each of the last three years, but enjoyed an upswing in form through 2020 as it regularly competed with Haas and Alfa Romeo.