Williams has confirmed it will miss the entire Formula 1 pre-season test in Barcelona, raising questions over preparedness of the team from Grove for 2026.
Entering 2026, Williams is experiencing a renaissance, following a significant upturn in performance following two podiums for Carlos Sainz last season.
This has fuelled hopes of a further step forward in 2026, as Sainz and team-mate Alex Albon target lifting the Grove team out of the midfield.
But these hopes have taken a step back by the announcement from the team that it will miss the entirety of the first closed test in Barcelona.
Releasing a statement on social media, the team confirmed the move, announcing it was focusing on development and conducting a VTT test.
Unconfirmed reports stipulate that the team has failed the mandatory FIA crash tests, impacting Williams’ preparations.
Losing the three days in Barcelona will truncate its preparations to the two tests in Bahrain, allowing no room for error.
Williams becomes the second team to confirm it is limiting involvement in the 2026 Barcelona test, after McLaren announced it would not run on day one.
This is the second time in recent history Williams has encountered issues with testing, after missing the first three days of testing in 2019 as its new car was not ready.
The debacle led to the departure of then Technical Director Paddy Lowe, and the Williams family sold the team a year later following financial issues for the team.
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