Williams had yesterday announced their partnership with battery company Duracell, and gave us a tease of their livery. Today we can see the car in all its glory, and it is immediately apparent that the Williams design group had a certain attraction to the colour blue, given its prominence on the car!
The car is named the FW44, with the “FW” being the name of the team’s founder Sir Frank Williams who sadly passed away in November last year. Despite the team now no longer being in control of the Williams family and now in the hands of Dorilton Capital, it’s nice to see the new owners staying true to their promise of honouring the team’s rich heritage. Key personnel had this to say:
“Over its history as an iconic Formula 1 team, Williams Racing has shown great strength and sophistication,”
“The new visual identity of the 2022 car perfectly encapsulates these characteristics that the staff, drivers and fans have demonstrated time and time again.
“As we move into the new era of our sport, the FW44 highlights the transition to the future, as well as acknowledging the timeless qualities that make us who we are. Last season we were thrilled and proud to make such strong advancements as a team, with a number of well-earned points-scoring results in addition to a podium.
“Looking forward, we want to build on this success, and the FW44 perfectly embodies these ambitions to return to the front of the grid. I look forward to witnessing this progression with Nicholas and Alex at the helm.”
-Jost Capito, Williams Racing Team Principal
“I’m a fan of the new livery. Keeping the blue was important as it’s synonymous with Williams Racing, but it’s a pattern we’ve not seen before and the fluorescent red will pop on track which I really like.
“It’s a fresh new look to start off the new era of F1. I’m super excited for testing in Barcelona, to get back behind the wheel, push and see what the car can do. Pre-season always feels like quite a long time, but it’s been really busy and there’s been a nice build-up at the factory with lots of hard work from everyone.
“The new regulations should allow for much better racing so I’m excited for the challenge and we will aim to gather some good data from testing, to take us into the first few races.”
-Nicholas Latifi, Williams F1 driver
“The FW44 livery is clean and simple. I like that we’ve gone for more blue with the dynamic diamond finish and a little bit of red; it looks really good and I’m looking forward to seeing it out on track.
“The upcoming Barcelona track session will be about making sure we’re efficient with our time to best ensure we have a competitive package heading into the season. We don’t have many days before our first race and so we quickly need to understand which areas of the car are strong and where we need to make improvements.
“I’m sure it will be a little bit of a learning curve as we all try to learn how to get the most out of the new regulations, but the objectives and the way that we focus on this car is very much the same as in previous years. Ultimately, we’re all still trying to get a racing car around a track as quickly as possible.”
-Alexander Albon, Williams F1 driver
Williams will certainly be full of hope- this is their best shot at redemption in a long, long time. The driver lineup is a strong one, with Alex Albon returning after a year on the sidelines and Latifi showing good improvements throughout the course of 2021. The car itself looks to just be a mule car with the livery stuck onto it. There are hints of last year’s livery on the car, but overall the car looks fresh and new. Will the car finally give Williams the success they so dearly yearn for? Let’s wait and see!
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