Williams Racing announced that they will not be present in Barcelona next week for the private three-day test amid struggles with the development of their 2026 Formula 1 car, the FW48.
Williams announced earlier that they will reveal the FW48 on February 3 as they also announced that they will run a fan-inspired livery in the Barcelona test.
However, the team seem to be in trouble as they issued a statement on Friday announcing their withdrawal from the Barcelona test which will be held over five days between January 26 and 30 with each team allowed three days of running.
Instead the Grove-based squad will focus on getting the car ready for the first official pre-season test which will be held in Bahrain on February 11-13.
The statement said: “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 [Virtual Test Track] programme next week with the 2026 car to prepare for 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," the statement concluded.
This must be an embarrassing situation for Williams, but it is not the first time, as back in 2019, the team also had to skip two days from the first pre-season test, which was held in Barcelona that year.
The team was in bad shape back then, both financially and structurally, under the watch of Claire Williams with Paddy Lowe leading the technical side.
Lowe left the team after that fiasco.
Latest News
Loading
