Williams Racing has unveiled its livery for the 2026 Formula One season.

Tuesday’s news comes after the team failed to prepare for the first pre-season testing event of 2026 in Barcelona last week.

The FW48 itself will be run for the first time at the first Bahrain test, taking place from 11 to 13 February.

The livery is primarily the team’s traditional blue, but the livery is different for 2026, with the sidepods coming in light blue (as part of a new partnership with Barclays) and white.

Williams finished fifth in last year’s Constructors’ Championship, their best result since 2017, suggesting the team is finally back on a clear upward trajectory under James Vowles.

The introduction of new chassis and power unit regulations for 2026 offers opportunities for further progress, but the team’s failure to make it to Barcelona puts them at a disadvantage.

Their driver line-up of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon is widely regarded as the strongest outside the “big four” of McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari, which will only raise expectations for the new era of F1.

On missing the Barcelona game, Walls said: “We definitely pushed the boundaries of what we were doing in some areas and one of them was some of the corresponding testing that went along with it, but I would say those were just blips in the grand scheme of things.

“They were one of many projects that were completely outside the limits of what we could achieve in the time frame available, so it was more of an output than anything else – pushing the boundaries not only of design, but of how many components could be pushed through the factory in a very short period of time.”

When does the F1 Bahrain pre-season test take place?

The introduction of the new regulations means there will be a full schedule of three separate testing events before the start of the 2026 season.

With the closed race in Barcelona over, F1 will next head to Bahrain for two “official” pre-season tests, where the media will be present and on-track timing will be provided.

The two three-day Tests in Bahrain are held from February 11 to 13 and 18 to 20 respectively.

When was the first F1 race?

Teams then have two weeks to prepare for the first round of the season, the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne from March 6-8.

The first practice session of the season will be held on Friday 6 March, qualifying will be held on Saturday 7 March and the opening race will be held on Sunday 8 March.

Stream every race of the 2026 F1 season live on Sky Sports, starting with the Australian Grand Prix on March 6-8. Watch Sky Sports now – no contract, cancel anytime