Williams lets fans pick its first look of 2026 — and “Flow State” wins by a landslide
Williams has handed the paintbrush to the people. The team has unveiled a fan-chosen pre-season testing livery for the 2026 car, with a blue-and-white “Flow State” scheme topping a global vote ahead of a behind-closed-doors run in Barcelona from 26–30 January.
Nearly 55,000 votes came in from 162 countries for six proposed designs, and the stealthy blue-and-white palette got the nod. It’ll make its debut on Williams’ next challenger during that private test, while the full launch of the FW48 remains under wraps.
“Thank you to all our incredible Atlassian Williams Racing fans around the world who had their say on how we should enter this new era for Formula 1,” team principal James Vowles said. “‘Flow State’ is a worthy winner and we are excited to carry the fans together with us when we hit the track for the first time. There is a lot to look forward to in 2026 and this is just the start.”
Some teams are expected to roll out their definitive 2026 designs early, others will keep things cloaked through the first running. With 11 days of testing scheduled before lights out on the season, don’t be surprised if we see a few camo wraps and decoy floors before the real thing arrives.
For Williams, the timing is deliberate. The Grove squad heads into F1’s next rules shake-up with a tailwind, coming off its strongest season in almost a decade: fifth in the Constructors’ standings in 2025, and two podiums courtesy of Carlos Sainz in his first year with the team. Momentum doesn’t guarantee a thing when the rulebook gets rewritten, but it doesn’t hurt either — and Vowles has rarely missed a chance to keep the fanbase plugged into the journey.
There’s also a refreshed badge to go with the fresh paint. Williams has rebranded with a new logo that nods back to the team’s roots, reviving the “Forward W” motif from the Sir Frank Williams era. It’s a neat through-line: heritage on the nose, new tech under the skin, and a fan-picked livery to introduce the next chapter.
The 2026 regulations promise a reset that could jumble the running order — lighter, nimbler cars and a fresh power unit formula that will reward the sharpest interpreters. That makes Barcelona’s private mileage valuable, even if the paddock won’t get eyes on everything just yet.
No firm FW48 launch date, then, but Williams is happy to show just enough. A crowd-sourced testing look, a heritage mark back on the car, and a quiet first run before the noise really starts. Classic soft-shoe moves from a team that’s been finding its rhythm again.
