The Atlassian Williams F1 Team revealed its new livery for the 2026 season on February 3, featuring a vibrant blue design with heritage elements, though fans are split on the color scheme. The unveiling followed the team's absence from the Barcelona shakedown, with the FW48 set to debut at Bahrain testing. Drivers Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz joined principal James Vowles in presenting the look to staff at Grove, Oxfordshire.
The Atlassian Williams F1 Team officially unveiled the livery for its 2026 challenger, the FW48, on February 3, 2026, at its Grove headquarters in Oxfordshire. The design incorporates a vibrant gloss blue reflecting the title partnership with Atlassian, contrasted by a lighter blue shade inspired by new sponsor Barclays, along with black sweeps, white accents on the sidepods, front wing, and rear wing, and an iconic red-and-white keyline nodding to championship cars like Nigel Mansell's FW14B and Damon Hill's FW18, marking the latter's 30th anniversary.
This reveal came hours after announcing the Barclays partnership, joining recent additions including Anthropic, BNY, Wilkinson Sword, and Nuveen, signaling growing support for Williams' resurgence. The team, rebranded as Atlassian Williams F1 Team, aims to capitalize on 2026's new regulations, which introduce shorter, narrower cars with redesigned wings for closer racing. Last season, Williams finished fifth in the Constructors' Championship with 137 points—its best since 2017—securing podiums in Baku and Qatar, plus a first Sprint podium in Austin.
However, the team missed the Barcelona shakedown from January 26 to 30 due to preparation issues, leaving it as the only squad yet to run laps. The FW48 will debut publicly at Bahrain testing on February 11-13, followed by another from February 18-20, before the season opener at the Australian Grand Prix on March 8.
James Vowles, team principal, stated: "2026 is the next step on the path back towards the top... we hope our fans will love cheering us on with this great new livery." Alex Albon added: "The design really stands out—it's bold, modern and unmistakably Atlassian Williams F1 Team." Carlos Sainz remarked: "The FW48 livery is a real statement of our intent for 2026."
Fan reactions are mixed. While the Duracell battery airbox draws praise—one Reddit user said, "As long as the Duracell battery stays then I'm satisfied"—others criticized the blue shades, with comments like "The three shades of blue is much less appealing than the gradient of last year" and calls for yellow to reference 1990s liveries. Vowles acknowledged the Barcelona setback: "We can mitigate missing Barcelona... but this will never happen again."
