Williams names 2027 car FW50 for 50th anniversary season
Williams will name its 2027 Formula 1 car the FW50, setting aside the chassis number that would normally follow this year’s FW48 to mark the team’s 50th anniversary in the sport.
The Grove-based team has used a similar numbering change before, moving from FW38 to FW40 for its 40th anniversary season. A show car of the FW50 will feature in a programme of celebrations that Williams says will put fans at the centre of its milestone year.
W50 Live exhibition will bring Williams history to London
The main public event, W50 Live, will run from 11–28 February in Waterloo, London. Visitors will be able to explore five decades of Williams history through an exhibition featuring championship-winning cars and memorabilia.
The venue also connects with the team’s early story. Founder Frank Williams first encountered co-founder Patrick Head in a garage beneath a London railway arch; more than 50 years later, the team will celebrate its history beneath the capital’s railway arches. Williams’ record includes nine constructors’ titles, seven drivers’ championships and 114 Grand Prix wins.
The exhibition line-up will span several eras. It will include the FW06, the first car built by Williams Grand Prix Engineering, as well as the FW11B, which carried Nelson Piquet to the 1987 title, and the FW14B, associated with Nigel Mansell’s 1992 championship.
Also planned for display are the FW19, marking 30 years since Jacques Villeneuve’s 1997 title, and the FW25, which set an F1 average-speed record with Juan Pablo Montoya that stood for 17 years. The FW38 will be shown as well; Valtteri Bottas reached 378kph in that car, a speed the source identifies as the highest ever recorded by an F1 car.
Albon and Sainz will continue as Williams’ drivers
Williams has already confirmed Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz for a third consecutive season together in 2027. Albon became the team’s most experienced F1 starter after passing Mansell’s previous Williams record of 95 starts in Barcelona this year. Sainz is one of three drivers, alongside Mansell and Alain Prost, to have raced for Ferrari, McLaren and Williams.
The team will also invite fans to vote on a one-off livery for its home race, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Limited-edition merchandise is planned, including a W50-branded Monopoly set due before Christmas and a coffee-table book covering the team’s five decades in F1.
Williams’ current driver pairing has also featured in recent coverage of Sainz’s Singapore Sprint pit-lane start. The wider programme will revisit the team’s cars and personalities, alongside its Baku upgrade package, as Williams looks ahead to its anniversary season.
Simone Scanu
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.