Williams FW47 uncovered: The significant design clues from Silverstone

Williams are the second Formula One team to break cover and reveal their challenger for 2025, albeit in a bespoke one-off camo livery, as their actual paint job will be revealed at the F1 75 live event next week in London.

Both Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon will helm the FW47 at Silverstone, as they conduct a shakedown around a shortened loop of the Silverstone circuit in order to ensure everything is operating in the correct manner before they really put it through its paces during pre-season testing in Bahrain.

Williams FW47: Let’s dig a little deeper to see what’s changed…

First off, it’s clear to see that the FW47 is a more optimised version of the design path taken by Williams during last season, with its predecessor having moved toward the overbite-style sidepod solution that’s included once more but improved upon for 2025.

Last season’s update package, which arrived at the Dutch Grand Prix, saw the team switch from an underbite layout, which had been favoured by the lead teams in 2023, to the overbite solution that had been championed by their rivals in the first part of the season.

Of course, there must have been performance advantages tied to this in order for them to make the switch, however, the original packaging of the internal components means that they’d have to wait for this year’s car to fully optimise the design.

The main change here appears to be in terms of how they’ve repackaged the car, with some changes expected around the centreline, with the saddle-style cooler mounted above the powerunit on the FW46 (above, arrowed) likely relocated. This appears to have allowed the team to alter the shape and size of the engine cover, with a more tapered profile present around the shark fin section.

Meanwhile, whilst the overall shape and design of the sidepods resemble that of the update package introduced last season, there’s clearly been alterations made to optimise the external surfaces from an aerodynamic perspective, with the outer wall of the downwash ramp section raised when compared with the FW46’s layout.

Internally there’s obviously going to have been changes made to improve the airflow’s passage through the repackaged infrastructure.

Moving a little further down the car and we’re able to see how much has changed on the FW47 when compared with its predecessor, with the rear end’s hardware, including the crash structure, gearbox and rear suspension being one of the big question marks over the direction they’d take in 2025.

Williams, who purchase their hardware from Mercedes, had opted to retain the same specification components they’d used in 2023 with the FW46.

This featured a pull-rod rear suspension layout, rather than the push-rod that both Mercedes and Aston Martin’s cars had in 2024.

The packaging of the push-rod suspension layout lends itself more appropriately to the current generation of cars, with most of the grid making a switch in this direction, as it provides more design freedom for the underfloor and diffuser, which should in-turn boost performance.

For Williams there was a different conundrum to consider though, as they’d decided to go early on the development of the FW46, meaning they couldn’t wait around for the design of the new components to be ratified and instead opted to make their gains with a more mature aerodynamic design around the conditions they already knew existed.

This time around that’s changed for Williams, as the FW47 does feature a push-rod arrangement, opening up new design avenues, with the exhaust layout the first of those that will have been changed, in order to suit the position of the inboard suspension elements, seen on the Mercedes W15 (above, arrowed).

There’s more…

Elsewhere around the car there’s other significant design changes we should pay some attention to, including the entirely new front wing assembly that the FW47 is sporting.

This new design is more inline with flap configuration we see elsewhere on the grid, with a more uniform chord height across the span, rather than the boomerang-style configuration previously favoured.

The central dip in the mainplane and the elements connected to the nose have also been revised to work more harmoniously, whilst the outboard section and endplate junction have been fettled to help reinforce the work already done by the team to exaggerate the amount of outwash that can be generated.

The floor has also been subjected to some interesting changes, with the SIS cover reconfigured, in order to allow optimisation to both the upper surface of the floor and the underfloor around it. Furthermore, the outboard floor fence appears to have an interesting shape to it that should help to better manage the airflow in that region.

Williams FW47: A new mini T-wing has been added

Another small, but interesting detail is the arrival of a small T-Wing mounted either side of the rear wing’s support pillar. This is unlikely to provide a great deal of influence in its own right but given its location it will clearly have a bearing on the airflow cast off the top surface of the engine cover and the heat being rejected from the outlet below.

In general, the FW47 looks like a step forward, with more cohesion applied to some of the concepts that were introduced, but perhaps sub-optimal, on the car’s predecessor.

This should also allow the team some scope to develop those concepts further, depending on how much they’re willing to sacrifice in their bid to make a more substantial leap up the grid in 2026.

Read more: Carlos Sainz gives immediate FW47 feedback after first install laps