Williams have announced that they will be using a special livery with Gulf sponsorship later in the 2023 F1 season. The twist? They are letting the fans choose what it looks like.
The British squad is one of multiple teams that will run temporary paint schemes in 2023. For instance, Red Bull are running competitions that will determine their liveries for each US round of the campaign. We already saw a new paint job on the RB19 in Miami – with two more coming in Austin and Las Vegas.
Similarly, at this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, McLaren have their own one-off design. This one celebrates the manufacturer’s Triple Crown successes of the past.
In contrast, Williams’ livery change-up comes as a result of their commercial partnership with Gulf. Ahead of the 2023 season, the oil brand and F1 team announced a multi-year sponsorship deal.
Many fans clamoured for Williams to change up their colours to match Gulf’s iconic blue and orange. Historically, Gulf colours have adorned many legendary motors across numerous motorsport disciplines. It was last seen in F1 at the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix as part of a special McLaren livery.
Now, though, Williams are bringing it back. But what designs can fans choose from?
The Williams Gulf Livery options that fans can vote on
The Gulf x Williams Racing collaboration sees four different livery options to choose from. These have four different names and stories: “Bolder than bold”, “Contemporary”, “Visionary”, and “Heritage”.
“Bolder than Bold” sees the base of the FW45 car switch to Gulf’s traditional pastel blue. There are then vertical stripes of orange across the back of the engine cover and orange trim on the nose and sidepods.
“Contemporary” follows a similar style, however, the orange sections come in blocks along the side of the car.
Unlike these two, “Visionary” reduces the amount of sky blue on show. Instead, electric blue and navy block sections accompany some angular orange elements on the side and front of the Williams.
Lastly, “Heritage” is more of a classic look. A plain, sky-blue car has tidy orange trim with black sections along the base of the FW45.
Voting for these designs is open to fans on the Williams website across three rounds. In round 1, voters can pick between “Bolder than Bold” and “Contemporary”. Fans will then choose between “Visionary” and “Heritage” in round 2 (opening on 5 June).
Finally, the winners of rounds 1 and 2 will meet in the last round of voting, where the victor will be the official Gulf x Williams livery.
When will the winner be announced and when will Williams use it?
The Grove-based team will reveal the overall winner of this fan vote following the completion of the final round. This is not until 23 June, after which the team will announce the chosen design on Wednesday 12 July.
But this delay pales in comparison to how long supporters will wait until seeing the paint scheme on track.
Three late-season races will see this Williams – Gulf livery mash-up. These are Singapore, Japan, and Qatar.
The Singapore Grand Prix is not until 15-17 September. Shortly after, round 17 of the F1 championship in Suzuka is on the 22-24 September. Williams will then use their special paint job for one last time in Qatar on 6-8 October.
Read: The top 3 one-off Monaco Grand Prix liveries of the 21st Century
Overall, the Gulf x Williams Racing livery is set to be one of the most eye-catching designs on the F1 grid in 2023. And, with the fans making the choice, the paint scheme should be one of the most popular as well.
Featured image credit: Getty
