What’s going on at Williams? Explaining the team’s 2026 pre-season setback
28 January 2026Williams ended the last F1 regulations cycle on the up. The team had finished fifth in the Constructors’ Championship and Carlos Sainz had scored two podiums in 2025. But between the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi and the green light at the end of the Barcelona pit lane, something has gone awry.
The Grove-based team will be notably absent from the Barcelona pre-season test, becoming the first outfit to succumb to the pressures of F1’s sweeping 2026 rules overhaul.
While Williams insists the delay is part of its pursuit of maximum performance, the absence has raised questions about how far its winter plan has slipped and what it means for the season ahead.
So, what’s going on at Williams, and how serious is this setback?
Why Williams is missing the Barcelona test?
Williams has confirmed delays in the FW48 programme mean it will not attend the private Barcelona test, which runs for five days, with each team allowed to run on just three.
If it were an insignificant issue, Williams could have arrived late just as Aston Martin is doing. Instead, it has chosen not to run at all. The problems run deeper, then. All fingers point to the car not yet reaching its intended specification.
Is this a 2026 crash test issue?
The team has not specified the cause of the delay, but the nature of the setback hints at a fundamental design problem rather than logistics or supplier failure.
One possible implication is a crash test failure, although nothing has been confirmed by Williams. But the heightened homologation standards for 2026 mean any weakness can cause more complications than in a normal year.
Those kinds of changes aren’t the work of a moment. Any small change snowballs in tightly planned manufacturing schedules.
Is it to do with the weight of the 2026 F1 cars?
The 2026 regulations represent one of the most demanding resets Formula 1 has ever seen. Just one of the obstacles to overcome is that cars must be 30kg lighter, despite heavier power units and stricter safety requirements.
Weight is the enemy in F1, so avoiding a scenario where the car is overweight is key, but there’s little margin for error. If something needs strengthening, the knock-on effects can quickly spiral.
Williams switched focus to 2026 earlier than most teams, specifically to avoid this situation, and yet here we are.
The virtual testing alternative
The FW48 has already been fired up, meaning the core build is complete, but not early enough to validate everything before heading to Spain.
In place of on-track running, Williams will conduct an intensive virtual track test programme at its factory. This involves running the complete car, engine and gearbox together on a rig under demanding conditions, going well beyond standard dyno testing.
How serious is this for Williams?
This isn’t the first time Williams has missed some of testing. In fact, it’s the third disrupted pre-season Williams has endured in eight years, drawing comparisons with 2019 and 2024.
This time, though, Williams believes focusing on being fully ready for the Bahrain tests is the best way to recover. Mercifully, there is more time to do just that in 2026.
Even so, Williams begins the season on the back foot.
How quickly Williams can regain momentum once it finally hits the track will be one of the early stories of the 2026 season.
