Williams reveals special British GP livery for 800th F1 race celebration
The Williams team has unveiled a one-off commemorative livery for this weekend's British Grand Prix to celebrate its 800th grand prix in Formula 1.
As part of the commemorative livery, the engine cover of the Williams FW45 driven by Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant has been draped in the Union Jack. The Grove-based team’s 800-race landmark is also referenced on the sidepods.
Its sponsor Gulf has received more prominent branding on the car's rear wing endplates.
The Silverstone weekend was set to be Williams' 800th grand prix, but due to the cancellation of Imola's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, that landmark had inconveniently shifted from the squad's home race to the following round in Hungary.
Williams has decided to keep the livery on the car for both race weekends so it can still celebrate its anniversary in front of its British fans in Silverstone.
According to the team, the livery "pays homage to the team's British heritage and to its beloved founder, the late Sir Frank Williams."
Williams, who died in November 2021, was at the helm of the team for most of its 800 races, overseeing nine constructors' championships and seven drivers' championships between 1977 and 2020.
Williams British GP livery
Photo by: Williams
Williams' anniversary livery is not to be confused with its fan-voted Gulf livery, which will appear on the car for the Singapore, Japan and Qatar rounds later this season.
Fans were allowed to vote on four different concept designs for the Asian flyaway events, with its 'Bolder than bold' and 'Heritage' liveries making it into the final of the contest. Voting has since closed, but the team is yet to reveal which of the two designs has been chosen by its fans.
Williams heads to Silverstone ninth in the constructors' standings after only scoring points on two occasions this season. Team leader Albon took a point with 10th place in the curtain-raising Bahrain Grand Prix.
Albon then claimed a morale-boosting seventh place in last month's Canadian Grand Prix, taking the team's points tally to seven. Team-mate Sargeant has yet to score, although the rookie achieved his best performance of the campaign last weekend in Austria, finishing 13th at the Red Bull Ring.
Williams has also planned further festivities around the Silverstone weekend, including a dedicated fan zone in London and a demo of Nigel Mansell's world championship-winning FW14B across the race weekend. It will be driven by the team's brand ambassador and former driver Jenson Button.
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