First look: Williams FW48 hits the track in F1 2026 shakedown at Silverstone
Image: Atlassian Williams F1 Team
Williams has confirmed that it has carried out a shakedown with its F1 2026 car, the FW48, at Silverstone.
Williams enjoyed its most successful season in years in 2025, with Carlos Sainz collecting two podium finishes as the team secured fifth place in the constructors’ standings.
Williams FW48 makes F1 2026 debut in Silverstone shakedown
The Grove-based outfit is aiming to take a significant step forward under the new rules for F1 2026, which sees the sport embrace 50 per cent electrification, fully sustainable fuels and active aerodynamics.
Williams was the only team to miss last week’s collective shakedown in Barcelona following what the team described as “delays to the FW48 programme.”
The team revealed the livery of its new car, the FW48, at an event on Tuesday before carrying out a shakedown at Silverstone today (Wednesday).
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Williams posted an image of the car – seemingly appearing in the white camouflage livery it planned to run in Barcelona – to social media on Wednesday evening.
Sainz’s teammate Alex Albon was behind the wheel in the image, which shows the FW48 entering the pit lane at the British Grand Prix venue.
The accompanying caption read: “A new era comes to life.
“Today, the FW48 completed a shakedown test at Silverstone.”
Williams later confirmed that Sainz and Albon shared driving duties at Silverstone, with the team planning to use a second filming day in Bahrain on February 10 – 24 hours before the start of the second pre-season test in Sakhir.
Speaking to PlanetF1.com and other select media outlets last week, Williams team principal James Vowles insisted that the team could have made Barcelona testing.
However, concerns over spare parts at the start of the season led to the “incredibly painful” decision to miss the shakedown.
Vowles went on to claim that the FW48 is the best car Williams have produced since he was appointed to his current role in January 2023.
He said: “In terms of [how good] the car [could be], it’s impossible to tell – and it’s really not me fobbing the question off.
“It’s simply that, even now, though I’m fortunate enough to see what’s going on in Barcelona, it’s impossible to tell what’s going on there too.
“I don’t know what targets people have set.
“I think, realistically, the car itself is the best I’ve seen us produce here. Those are facts I can put down.
“But that doesn’t indicate where it is on a timing sheet. That’s what Bahrain [testing] and beyond will tell us.”
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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