The Williams FW45 was Williams Racing's 2023 Formula 1 challenger, a meaningful development step over the FW44 and powered by the Mercedes-AMG F1 M14 E Performance 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged hybrid unit. Across all 22 rounds of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, Alexander Albon carried race number 23 for the Grove-based team. For one particular weekend in Austin, that car wore something entirely different from its standard blue-and-white colours.
Developed as a substantial aerodynamic revision of the preceding FW44, the FW45 integrated updated Mercedes power unit packaging alongside revised bodywork concepts. It competed across the full 22-round 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship calendar, with Alexander Albon as the team's lead driver carrying number 23. The chassis represented a committed step in Williams Racing's broader technical rebuild programme, and Albon's performances throughout the season reinforced his standing as one of the grid's more accomplished midfield operators.
Gulf at COTA: One Weekend, One Livery
On 22 October 2023 at Circuit of the Americas, Williams Racing ran a special Gulf Oil livery on the FW45 — the iconic light blue and orange colour scheme synonymous with Gulf's decades of motorsport involvement. Applied exclusively for the Austin weekend, the livery was a tribute to the historic relationship between Gulf Oil International and Williams, and was never repeated during the 2023 season. Gulf's motorsport pedigree spans the Ford GT40 and Porsche 917 eras, meaning this single-event application on a 2023 Formula 1 car carried genuine cross-generational resonance for collectors well beyond the F1 community.
Spark Model's 1:18 Rendering of a One-Race Livery
Spark Model — known for their resin Formula 1 replicas with photo-etched metal detailing — produce this model under the 1:18 format that has become the reference scale for serious F1 display collectors. The model reproduces the FW45 No. 23 precisely as raced by Alexander Albon at the 2023 United States Grand Prix, with the Gulf blue-and-orange livery rendered across the bodywork. At 1:18, Spark's Formula 1 output sits in the premium resin segment, offering a combination of display presence and surface accuracy that smaller scales cannot replicate.
In the Display Cabinet
This model pairs naturally with the Williams FW45 No. 2 Logan Sargeant from the same Austin weekend, creating a complete two-car Gulf livery presentation from the 2023 USGP. Collectors drawn to Gulf Oil iconography will find it sits logically alongside 1:18 renditions of the Porsche 917 and Ford GT40 in Gulf colours — the same sponsor heritage, different eras. For those focused on Alexander Albon's career, it forms a direct companion to other FW45 variants from the 2023 season in standard Williams livery, marking the contrast between the team's race identity and this single exceptional weekend.
Häufig gestellte Fragen
What makes the Gulf livery on the FW45 historically significant?
Gulf Oil has one of the most recognised liveries in motorsport, associated with the Ford GT40 and Porsche 917 among others. Williams Racing applied a Gulf blue-and-orange colour scheme to the FW45 for the 2023 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas on 22 October 2023 — a one-off tribute to the historic Williams-Gulf partnership, used for that single race weekend only.
Who drove the No. 23 Williams FW45 at the 2023 United States Grand Prix?
Alexander Albon drove the Williams FW45 carrying race number 23 throughout the entire 2023 Formula 1 season, including the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
Who makes this 1:18 scale model and what is it made from?
This is a Spark Model production. Spark's 1:18 Formula 1 models are constructed in resin with photo-etched metal detailing, a combination that allows fine surface accuracy at display scale.
Does the Gulf livery appear on both Williams cars from the 2023 USGP?
Yes. Williams Racing ran the Gulf livery on both FW45 entries at Austin — No. 23 Alexander Albon and No. 2 Logan Sargeant — making the 2023 USGP the only round of the season where the full Williams lineup raced in Gulf colours.
