Williams made “bold statement” with live launch of new car

New Williams driver Carlos Sainz Jnr was impressed by the team’s live launch of its 2025 car at Silverstone.

Sainz, who has joined the team from Ferrari, was first to drive the new FW47. It left its garage on schedule just over half an hour after the team began a live broadcast from the track.

The team suffered a difficult start to last season as changes at its factory meant completion of the previous car ran late and they began the year short on parts. But Sainz, whose first two laps in the car were shown live, reported no problems after his first runs.

“It has been a smooth day,” said Sainz afterwards. “We managed to complete all the run plan without any issues and I got my first proper feeling for the car.

Carlos Sainz Jnr, Williams, Silverstone, 2025 — Albon drove the FW47 after his new team mate

“It was a bold statement from Williams to show the first lap of this new car to our partners, the media, and our fans and it went very well.”

Sainz and team mate Alexander Albon each covered 100 kilometres on the short version of the track which holds the British Grand Prix. Albon said he was “really happy” with his first impression of the FW47 ahead of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit at the end of the month.

“Normally this weather makes the car feel good, and it did today. We won’t know for sure what the car is like until Bahrain, but the car was reliable, and we put on a great show for our partners and fans, so I hope everyone enjoyed that.”

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Chief engineer Dave Robson said the team encountered some teething problems but they were able to begin exploring the car’s limits before completing the maximum 200 kilometres permitted on a promotional day.

“The car ran well and, having completed a few careful laps to check that everything was working correctly, we were able to push the car hard and confirm that there were no major problems,” he said. “Inevitably, we found a few very minor issues, but these will be quickly resolved before we arrive in Bahrain, and they didn’t affect the running today.

“In the cold conditions, and using the Pirelli promotional tyres, it is impossible to assess the performance of the FW47, however, the telemetry and driver feedback suggest that the basic characteristics of the car are very close to expectation and there are no immediate handling concerns.