Williams set for new colour in "fresh" 2022 F1 livery

The Grove-based outfit, entering its second full season under the ownership of Dorilton Capital following the team's sale by the Williams family in August 2020, will unveil its new branding at its 15 February launch event.

Ahead of that occasion, its drivers Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi have been filmed getting their first look at the colours – and their surprise at what they saw hints at a big departure from last year.

Williams posted a video of the pair's reaction at being shown the 2022 car and livery on social media on Wednesday.

Latifi responded to it: “That's different….Fresh. I think I used that word last year, but I think it applies more to this year.

“This is a really cool, actually. I think it's going to look nice under the lights, nice in photos.”

Former Red Bull driver Albon was equally impressed. His comments about which new colour would be on the car, beyond Williams’ traditional blue and white, were edited out.

“I like it. I would say it's more Williams,” said the Thai driver.

“It is more simple in terms of the colour scheme. There's a little bit of **** in it. I like the **** in it.”

Latifi added: “There's a new colour involved here, which I'm a fan of.

“I think it highlights some very cool features on the car. A bit of a different pattern as well, from what we've normally used.”

Williams has traditionally raced with blue and white colours, but last year’s design featured hints of yellow – and different tones of blue on the engine cover.

It famously departed from its usual colour scheme in 1998 and 1999, when it carried Winfield branding and ran a red livery.

Williams enjoyed an encouraging 2021 campaign, where it moved off the bottom of the constructors’ championship and finished eighth in the standings thanks to points-scoring finishes from both Latifi and George Russell.

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Russell has left to join Mercedes for 2022 as Lewis Hamilton’s team-mate, with Albon taking his place after holding down reserve duties at Red Bull last season.

It marks the second time that Albon and Latifi have been paired together, having been team-mates at the DAMS Formula 2 team in 2018.