Williams are set to name their 2027 Formula 1 car the FW50, marking the 50th anniversary of their first world championship race. This is a departure from their usual naming convention, which typically increments by one each year.
The 2027 car, expected to be driven by Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, would ordinarily have been called the FW49, following this year's FW48. However, the team is skipping a year to honor the milestone.
Similar Move in 2017
This is not the first time Williams has made such a change. In 2017, they skipped the FW39 designation and went straight to FW40 for their 40th anniversary. That would have aligned perfectly for the 50th, but the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the sequence when teams were allowed to reuse their 2020 cars in 2021, and Williams, facing financial constraints, took that option.
Financial Stability and Ownership
Funding is less of an issue now. Formula 1 is booming, and Williams is in a more stable position than in recent years. Since Dorilton Capital took over in 2020, they have kept their promise to preserve the Williams name and the FW naming tradition, and they have done so so far.
On-Track Struggles
However, on-track performance has not met expectations. After a strong 2025 season where they were 'best of the rest' in the midfield, Williams has struggled with the new regulations this year, scoring just 11 points and sitting ninth in the constructors' standings.
Optimism about developing their way out of trouble is fading, and the situation puts them at risk of losing Sainz, who has admitted he is considering his options for 2027. Team principal James Vowles has expressed surprise at their decline and told Formula1.com that the situation has prompted a full rethink of how the team operates.
Vowles said: "The cost cap is the best thing that ever came in, I maintain that, but it also baked in some of these inefficiencies and we're having to dig hard to get them back out, while still producing a car that goes on track, and updating it. The reason why I said I think we needed to go through this is, we've made so many changes that I'm not sure we'd have made quite to the same level if the car was [only] a little bit heavy, and a little bit late."
He added: "We made some bold decisions on what we're going to do with some of our systems that just weren't working. Tipping out some core systems in the middle of the year… I assure you there's not another team on the grid trying to do that. We're also trying to create a whole new chassis in the middle of the year. It used to be commonplace, but not anymore. That's a hell of a drive."
