Williams has revealed a brand new livery for its 2024 Formula 1 car during a launch event in New York.
The team has adopted a darker blue livery for its FW46 as a "contemporary tribute" to the team's championship-winning heritage.
The new livery was revealed on a car that closely resembled last year's Williams FW45, with the actual FW46 set to debut in a Bahrain shakedown run on February 20, one day before the three-day pre-season test kicks off.
Williams also used the launch to reveal a new multi-year sponsorship deal with Komatsu, which produces construction, mining, forestry, and industrial heavy equipment.
Komatsu supplied gearbox components to Williams in the 1980s and 1990s, including during its title-winning campaigns in 1996 and 1997.
Team boss James Vowles said the livery is a mark of the "tremendous difference from last year to this year with what we've done commercially".
"It's also a reflection back to Frank [Williams, team founder], a reflection back to what we are as an organisation," he added.
"We're here for racing. I feel that really comes across."
The FW46 will be the first car designed under the leadership of Vowles, who took over from Jost Capito in January last year when the 2023 car had already been conceived.
The team will be spearheaded once again by Alex Albon, who Williams may face a fight to keep hold of as he's in the final year of his contract and Lewis Hamilton's bombshell exit from Mercedes after 2024 to join Ferrari has shaken up the F1 driver market.
"We’ve asked a lot of the team and the factory to get this car where it needs to be, and we’ve also slightly changed the philosophy of the car," Albon explained.
"So I’m interested to see if we can improve some of the characteristics it has historically had. It will require an adjustment in driving style but I’m confident it will be a change for the better.”
Albon will be partnered by Logan Sargeant, who did just about enough in his rookie season to convince Williams to give him a second year.
Williams also promoted its seven-strong Williams Driver Academy during the event, with additional Williams-backed driver Jamie Chadwick gearing up for her second season in Indy NXT.
She will also be mentoring Lia Block, who will be the Williams-backed driver contesting the second season of the all-female F1 Academy series in 2024.
Zak O’Sullivan and Franco Colapinto, who both completed F1 running with Williams last year, will make their full-time Formula 2 debuts with ART Grand Prix and MP Motorsport respectively in 2024.
