Williams will unveil the race livery for its FW48 on February 3, revealing the design it will carry for the bulk of the 2026 season.
The Grove-based team will head into the year with momentum after enjoying its strongest campaign in almost a decade, finishing fifth in the Constructors’ Championship in 2025 with 137 points.
The FW48 will initially appear in a special fan-designed livery during pre-season running in Barcelona, a one-off look chosen by supporters from 162 countries who cast almost 55,000 votes.
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The final design, which Williams has described as a “striking look”, will then be revealed in early February and used for the remainder of the campaign.
Williams enters the first season of F1’s new technical framework with optimism, having secured podium finishes in Baku and Qatar last year, as well as its first-ever Sprint podium in Austin.
With all-new cars that are shorter, lighter and designed to promote closer racing, the 2026 reset is viewed internally as a key step in the team’s longer-term push back towards championship contention under team principal James Vowles.
Mercedes, meanwhile, will offer an earlier glimpse of its 2026 machine.
The team has confirmed that renders of the Mercedes-AMG F1 W17 E PERFORMANCE will be released on Thursday, January 22, marking the first public look at its challenger built to the new regulations.
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Those images will be published across the team’s digital platforms before Mercedes heads to Barcelona for the opening pre-season test, which runs from January 26 to 30.
A full digital season launch will then follow on Monday, February 2, featuring the W17 alongside drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, CEO and team principal Toto Wolff, and senior technical figures.
The launch will also place a spotlight on the major technical changes shaping the new era, including Mercedes’ all-new power unit and the advanced sustainable fuel developed in partnership with Petronas.
For Mercedes, the unveiling comes as the team looks to re-establish itself at the very front of the grid after a mixed run through the ground-effect era.
While the Silver Arrows returned to second in the Constructors’ Championship in 2025, they have yet to claim a title under the current rules and see 2026 as a major opportunity to reset.
With Williams and Mercedes now confirming their plans, most of the grid has locked in key dates across January and February ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne from March 6–8, leaving McLaren as the only team yet to announce plans for either a 2026 livery reveal or a full car launch.
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