Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon completed their first laps in the new car, which missed the Barcelona shakedown a week ago due to production delays.
On Tuesday, Williams revealed the livery for the FW48. However, during testing, the car will sport a special fan-voted scheme.
“This was a milestone day for us and it is always a very proud moment to see a new car on track for the first time,” said Williams team principal James Vowles.
“The team has absolutely pulled together under the pressure of the situation and delivered a car today for a planned promotional filming day here at Silverstone.
“We were able to understand more about our package in preparation for Bahrain next week, and Carlos and Alex were able to provide some positive feedback to direct us, while also identifying some minor issues for us to clean up between now and then.
“The push isn’t over yet – this is just the beginning and there is more in front of us.”
The Silverstone shakedown, which was a largely wet affair, confirmed Williams has gone with pull-rod suspension – putting it in line with Alpine and Cadillac.
“It’s always an exciting, special day for the drivers, the mechanics and the entire team and it’s been a great effort from everyone to get the car on track today,” said Sainz.
“It was a typical winter day at Silverstone, so we focused on getting in our first few laps and completing our shakedown plan.
“We are ready to fly to Bahrain in a few days where we’ll dive into more complete run plans, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Teammate Albon added: “Obviously a few bits of data to look at and areas to improve, but generally a fairly smooth day.
“We had decent weather for Silverstone at this time of year and glad to finally be in the car and driving the FW48.
“Our full focus is on Bahrain now, looking at the data and getting ready for the start of the season.”
The first all-in pre-season test at Bahrain will take place on February 11-13 with the second test on February 18-20.
