Gallery: Williams reveals 2022 FW44 F1 car

Updated 15th February 16:45 Williams revealed the real FW44 F1 car in a pair of images from a shakedown at a very wet Silverstone hours after the new livery was showcased online. With only a pair of social media images to work from there's not an awful lot to glean, other than just how good the new livery looks, but to the initial eye it does seem quite different to the other cars launched.

The FW44 seems to have a much more rounded nose than other cars and very minimal sidepod area, going completely against the large sculpted direction taken by teams like Aston Martin and closer to McLaren's minimised route, although perhaps to even more extreme levels.

A new blue joins flashes of red – a nod by the team to its British heritage – and a diamond scheme – possibly a nod to team partner Umbro. Duracell also joins as a prominent partner for the team, in what will be a season of relative financial parity with the big boys and one of Williams’ most financially secure yet. There’s hope yet for a return to form.

None of which is given just yet by the car itself. Technically speaking we didn’t get a lot of information and from looking at it, it’s identical to the official F1 mock-ups and certainly not the final car. There’s much more to be seen and known about this car yet.

Signs that Williams has something to hide technically speaking? Maybe. A sign it’s not quite finished its homework yet? Possibly. Either way, questions still left to be answered mean the Williams journey in the season to come could be one taking place further up the grid.