Williams F1 Team have confirmed they will miss shakedown running/the opening test in Barcelona next week.
It’s not the first time this has happened to the team. Under much more difficult circumstances financially back in 2019, they missed two days of running as their car was not ready. The car was miles off the pace that year.
Ralf Bach from F1-Insider said a few days ago that: “And what I keep hearing more and more often is that Williams won’t even make it to the first test week in Barcelona, not even for chassis reasons.
“So there are people who say they’re not even going there because the chassis isn’t up to scratch with all that extra weight and they just can’t manage it.
“Can’t manage it with a lot of excess weight and they just can’t get it right. That’s rumoured. Whether it’s true, we’ll see. If Williams is there then it wasn’t true. But if it is there, well, good night.”
Reports on Friday state Williams have failed to pass the mandatory crash test that must be done before every single season because of safety reasons.
Huge disappointment following a breakthrough 2025
2025 was an incredibly strong year for Williams. While some limitations remained, the FW47 was a massive improvement on the previous few cars.
Carlos Sainz bagged two Grand Prix podiums with outstanding drives in Baku and Qatar. Alex Albon finished 8th in the standings, best of the rest behind the top four teams.
The Grove-based squad also secured a top 5 finish in the Constructors’ Championship for the first time since 2017.
Williams F1 Team statement on missing the shakedown/test in Barcelona
“Atlassian Williams F1 Team has taken the decision not to participate in next week’s shakedown test in Barcelona following delays in the FW48 programme as we continue to push for maximum car performance.
“The team will instead conduct a series of tests including a VTT programme next week with the 2026 car to preparefor the first official test in Bahrain and the first race of the season in Melbourne.
“We are looking forward to getting on track in the coming weeks and want to thank all our fans for your continued support – there is a lot to look forward to together in 2026.”
