That is quite the statement from Grove. As Motorsport.com Italia reports, the team is skipping a number in its traditional chassis naming sequence, jumping straight from this season's disappointing FW48 to the FW50 to mark half a century of racing history as the team reaches its 50th year in 2027.
A single image shared by the team on social media revealed both the designation change and a sticker placed on the left side of the monocoque inside chassis 001. That tells us the technical staff, directed by Pat Fry, has already pushed ahead with its work following a difficult campaign.
Let's not forget how hard this year has been. The team was forced to miss the Barcelona shakedown in late January—missing three of the five scheduled test days at Montmelo—because the FW48 failed a series of FIA crash tests following tighter safety rules. To pass those checks, the car gained roughly thirty kilos of extra weight that could only be shed in the final stretch of the season.
Team principal James Vowles finds himself under pressure to turn things around after the squad slipped to eighth in the constructors' championship. That drop comes despite holding fifth place right behind the four top teams in 2025, and running with Mercedes power units widely recognized as the most competitive on the grid.
This deliberate break in the car numbering tradition acts as a clear signal of a fresh start away from recent struggles. To celebrate fifty years since the outfit's official birth in 1977, an immersive exhibition titled "W50 Live: Williams, 50 Years of F1 Racing" will run in London from February 11 to February 28. Visitors can walk through five decades of history featuring title-winning machines yielding nine constructors' and seven drivers' crowns, alongside memorabilia and a show car of the FW50.
Fans looking to attend can grab tickets when pre-sales open for W Club members on October 26, 2026, ahead of the general sale on October 29, 2026. Both Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon will be hoping this machine truly marks a new dawn.
