The FW47 was launched on 14 February 2025 at the Silverstone Circuit. For its initial shakedown, the car featured a one-off "camo" livery and was driven by new signee Carlos Sainz Jr. The definitive 2025 racing livery was later unveiled on 18 February 2025 during the F1 75 Live event held at The O2 Arena.
Throughout the 2025 season, the FW47 utilized three specialized liveries for specific events. At the United States Grand Prix, the car featured a design paying homage to the team's historical partnership with BMW. For the São Paulo Grand Prix, the team ran a livery in partnership with Gulf Oil, and at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the car displayed a design featuring Atlassian's Rovo toolset.
The FW47 showed immediate pace during pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, where Sainz recorded the fastest overall time of 1:29.348.
The car's early competitive outings were marked by a return to the front of the midfield. At the Australian Grand Prix, both FW47s reached the final qualifying session (Q3), with Albon starting sixth and Sainz tenth. Although Sainz retired due to a torque issue that resulted in a collision with the wall, Albon finished fifth. This marked the highest finishing position for a Williams driver since the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix.
During the Chinese Grand Prix, the FW47 demonstrated leading pace when Albon led the race on lap 16. This was the first time a Williams car had led a Grand Prix since Valtteri Bottas did so at the 2015 British Grand Prix. Following the post-race disqualification of both Ferrari drivers and Pierre Gasly, Albon and Sainz were classified seventh and tenth respectively, securing the team's first double-points finish since the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
At the Japanese Grand Prix, Albon qualified ninth while Sainz, originally qualifying twelfth, was demoted to fifteenth following a three-place grid penalty for impeding Lewis Hamilton. In the race, Albon secured ninth place. At the Bahrain Grand Prix, Sainz qualified eighth but was forced to retire following collision damage sustained in a contact with Yuki Tsunoda on lap 31. Albon finished the Bahrain race in twelfth.
The FW47 achieved its most significant results in the latter half of the season. At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Sainz qualified the car in second place, the best qualifying performance for the team since 2021. He converted this start into a third-place finish, securing Williams' first podium since the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix.
Sainz recorded a second podium for the FW47 by finishing third at the Qatar Grand Prix. Additionally, the car achieved a podium result in a sprint race. At the São Paulo Grand Prix, Albon recorded his maiden fastest lap while driving the FW47.
The FW47 concluded the 2025 season as the team's most successful chassis in several years. By surpassing the points totals achieved by the team between 2018 and 2024, the FW47 facilitated Williams' best season since 2017, when the team finished fifth in the World Constructors' Championship.