Williams is marking its 800th F1 race with a Union Jack livery…

What is it they say about the best laid plans of mice and men? Yup, they go astray. And if all had gone to plan Williams would be going all in on a homecoming celebration to mark its 800th F1 race at the British GP this weekend.

Except… the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was cancelled because of flooding in May, which means its actual 800th race is in a fortnight’s time in Hungary. Oh dear.

No matter, the team - which don’t forget has amassed seven drivers’ and nine constructors’ titles since it was formed in 1977 - has decided to spread the celebration over both weekends instead. And to kick things off it’s revealed this ‘one-off Silverstone design’ featuring a whopping great Union Jack on the engine cover.

Williams says the livery pays tribute to its British heritage and the late Sir Frank Williams, who founded the team in his name and who oversaw virtually all of its success before his death in 2021.

F1 seems to be going one-off-livery crazy at the minute: this season alone we’ve seen the (very cool) McLaren Triple Crown paint job and (rather disappointing) Red Bull Miami colour scheme, and Williams’ effort above will line up alongside McLaren’s ode-to-chrome at Silverstone.

Oh, and Williams will be back with a fan-voted Gulf livery special at Singapore, Japan and Qatar later this season.

Ah well, keeps things interesting while one driver’s doing all of the winning…