Williams F1 Launches 2023 FW45 for American Logan Sargeant's Rookie Season

Williams has presented the livery which will adorn its FW45 for the 2023 Formula 1 season.

Williams finished at the bottom of the F1 Constructors’ Championship for the fourth time in five seasons in 2022 as its recent struggles continued. It enters 2023 with a revised driver pairing of Alexander Albon and American youngster Logan Sargeant.

Sargeant, fourth in last year’s Formula 2 championship, will become America’s first Formula 1 racer since 2015, and its first full-season driver since 2006.

Williams’ FW45 will run for the first time during a shakedown at Silverstone next Monday (February 13) with both Sargeant and Albon set to share driving duties.

Williams has made significant aerodynamic changes during the off-season in a bid to combat the underlying weaknesses of its off-the-pace FW44. The sidepod concept has been heavily evolved, facilitated by alterations to the power unit cooling layout, while modifications have been made to the front suspension layout.

Mercedes remains as Williams’ power unit partner.

Commercially Williams has been bolstered by a new partnership with Gulf Oil, along with United States-based partners Stephens and Michelob ULTRA.

Williams has also undergone managerial changes during the off-season.

Mercedes’ chief strategist James Vowles will take up his new role as Williams’ team principal on February 20, having joined in place of Jost Capito, with technical director FX Demaison also having left.

“I’m really excited for the season to get started after what, for me, feels like a long winter,” said Sargeant.

“I’m super motivated and we’ve put a lot of hard work in. The car is looking amazing and it shows the huge effort the team has put in the off season, so I’m looking forward to getting started at Silverstone before heading out to Bahrain.”

Albon, entering his second year with Williams, said: “I’m really excited to be starting back for another year with the team. The car looks great and will hit the track at Silverstone. The team has worked really hard last year and over the winter to address some key areas in our car, putting in the work to try and maximize what we get out of the car for 2023, so I’m looking forward to seeing what the FW45 can do.

“We also welcome new partners to the team this year, so it’s great to have them onboard.”