Williams has officially pulled the covers off its 2025 FW47 challenger, and Jenson Button is impressed. The 2009 Formula 1 World Champion was front and center at the team’s launch event at Silverstone, where he couldn’t help but admire the significant evolution in the latest Williams design.
“First of all, looks beautiful, it really does,” Button said during the team’s live stream unveiling on YouTube.
“There’s not going to be massive changes with any F1 cars in 2025, but there seems to be quite a lot of changes to the FW47, which is great to see.”
For a team that finished ninth in the Constructors’ Championship last season, any improvements are a step in the right direction. And with Carlos Sainz joining Alex Albon in 2025, Williams is hoping this season marks the start of a serious revival.
Biggest Williams Changes for 2025
🚀 Aerodynamic refinements
🔹 More usable downforce—not just peak numbers, but better cornering stability
🔹 High-downforce corner improvements
🔹 More predictability and sensitivity in handling
🔹 James Vowles, Williams’ team principal, believes the FW47 is a “world of difference” from 2024.
“Every area I look at in the car is just a world of difference from where we were before,” said Vowles.
Williams’ Ambitious 2025 Plans: Can They Return to Glory?
Williams made small but noticeable gains in 2024, scoring 17 points across 24 races—the team’s best season since 2017.
But with Carlos Sainz’s arrival from Ferrari, the expectations have shifted.
Vowles knows what it takes to win, having spent years at Mercedes. Now, he has a race-winning driver in Sainz and a promising car that, according to Button, has made serious steps forward.
The real test begins in pre-season testing (Feb 26-28 in Bahrain), where Williams will get its first real indication of how far they’ve come.
Can Williams finally climb out of the midfield? If Button’s enthusiasm is anything to go by, they might just surprise us all.
