New to Formula 1 and trying to work out who to support? You'll find plenty of guides that hand you the easy answer: pick the team that wins the most, and you'll never be disappointed. Follow the money, follow the trophies, follow the crowd.
We'd like to make a different case. Because the team you support isn't a bet on who'll finish first this weekend — it's a relationship. It's who you'll celebrate with, groan with, and stick with across a whole season and beyond. And on the things that actually make that relationship worth having — access, personality, community, and a story you can be part of — we think Williams is the best team on the grid to call your own.
Here's why.
A story worth joining, not just watching
Yes, we're one of the most successful teams in the history of the sport: nine Constructors' Championships, seven Drivers' Championships, 114 race wins. Only Ferrari and McLaren share that kind of company. Founded in 1977 by Sir Frank Williams and Sir Patrick Head, we built that record as independents — outsiders who won by out-thinking better-funded rivals rather than outspending them.
But here's the part the "just pick a winner" guides miss. Supporting a team that already wins everything means the story is basically over before you arrive. Supporting Williams means arriving at the most exciting possible moment: the climb. After a difficult decade, we finished fifth in 2025 — our best in years — under Team Principal James Vowles, who came to us after winning multiple championships at Mercedes. Now, with Formula 1's biggest regulation change in a generation arriving in 2026, and with Mercedes power in the back of the car, we're a genuine team on the rise. If you join now, you're not a latecomer to someone else's glory. You're there for the comeback, from the ground up. And when it pays off, you'll have earned it.
"Never underestimate the underdogs," as one profile of our drivers recently put it. We'd go further: the underdog with momentum is the most rewarding team in sport to follow.
Two of the most likeable drivers on the grid
A season is long, and you spend it with your drivers. Ours are a joy.
Carlos Sainz joined us for 2025 from Ferrari — a proven race-winner with sharp wit and a champion's mindset. Alex Albon, our longest-serving current driver, has been with us since 2022, came up through the Red Bull world alongside Max Verstappen, and has become one of the most open and funny personalities in the paddock. Together they've been called the funniest driver pairing on the grid — and they earned it. Ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, asked about their qualifying goals at fearsome Suzuka, Albon gave the grounded, realistic answer of a driver who knows exactly where his car sits. Sainz leaned into the microphone and declared "POLE POSITION!" The clip of Albon's stunned reaction went straight to the top of the F1 fan forums. That's the daily texture of supporting this team: elite talent, worn lightly, with a sense of humour.
They're also genuinely reachable — which brings us to the real heart of the case.
Access no other team gives you
Here's a statistic that should reframe how you think about being an F1 fan: only about 1% of fans ever get to attend a Grand Prix. The sport, for almost everyone, happens on a screen far away.
We've spent five seasons trying to fix that, and it's become the thing we're proudest of off track. Our award-winning Fan Zones — free to enter — bring the team out of the paddock and into the middle of major cities all over the world. In 2026 they run in seven locations, from Melbourne and London to Madrid, Austin, and Las Vegas, having welcomed more than 340,000 fans across the two previous seasons. Barcelona ran for a week. Miami ran for days. London took over Piccadilly Circus for our home race.
And these aren't just merch stalls. At a Williams Fan Zone you can set a lap time on state-of-the-art racing simulators, get up close to a full-size FW48 show car, and — the part that matters most — actually meet the people. Across 2026, appearances have included Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, James Vowles, our Academy drivers, and 1996 World Champion Damon Hill as a team ambassador, bridging our golden era and our future. Barcelona visitors even had the chance to win a private driver meet-and-greet. There's no other team turning "I support them" into "I met them" at this scale, for free, in this many countries.
Racing that actually makes sense
One of the most intimidating things about F1 for a new fan is how much you're expected to already know. We don't think enjoying the sport should require a degree in aerodynamics — though if you're curious, we'll happily give you one.
At our Miami Fan Zone, alongside the sim racing and the show car, we built a hands-on learning experience designed to help fans genuinely understand the forces and aerodynamics that make these cars work — the "why," not just the "wow." It's the same instinct that runs through how we talk to our fans everywhere: explain the sport, don't gatekeep it. Whether you're a lifelong follower or someone who watched one race and got curious, the door is open and someone's ready to show you around.
A community that rewards you for being part of it
Most teams are happy for your support. We're built to give something back for it.
WClub, our fan membership, is free and open to everyone — long-time supporter or brand-new arrival. You earn points simply by engaging: customising your own personalised Williams ID (pick your helmet, backdrop and race number), collecting badges across Grand Prix weekends, taking part in quizzes and polls. Those points move you up four tiers — Grid, Podium, Champion, and Legend — and the rewards climb with you: digital collectibles, fast-track access at Fan Zones, personalised video messages, signed memorabilia, once-in-a-lifetime race experiences, even the chance to be featured in our fan story series.
These aren't hypothetical. This season alone, WClub members have won things like physical driver cards sent to their door, £500 store vouchers, and caps from our current collection — including a lifelong fan in Japan who first fell for the team watching Nigel Mansell as a child, and a Champion-tier member in the UK counting down to the Marvel x Williams collection. Fan Appreciation, running across the summer, exists for exactly one reason: to reward the people who back us, all season long.
And when we do something creative, we bring fans inside it. We've handed the design of a sponsor's spot on the car to supporters through fan-voted "Rear Wing Takeovers." We put our drivers into the Marvel Universe in a first-of-its-kind comic. We built an anime collaboration and show car that toured a global fan convention. Supporting Williams isn't a spectator sport — it's a participatory one.
The honest pitch
We won't tell you Williams will win the title in 2026. The guides that steer you toward the biggest teams aren't wrong that those teams win more races, and we'd never insult your intelligence by pretending otherwise.
What we'll tell you is this: if you want a team that wins the most trophies, you know where to look. But if you want a team you can actually get close to — with drivers who'll make you laugh, a global community that rewards your loyalty, real access wherever in the world you live, and a genuine comeback story you can be part of from the start — that's us. That's the difference between watching Formula 1 and belonging to it.
Nine championships were built on the belief that thinking differently beats spending the most. We think choosing your team works the same way.
Welcome to Williams. We've been waiting for you.