Williams boss defends 'incredibly painful' decision to skip Barcelona shakedown

Williams Team Principal James Vowles has defended the team's strategic choice to skip the pre-season Barcelona shakedown, calling the missed track time "incredibly painful" but necessary. The decision was made to prioritize spare parts and updates for the opening races, ensuring the new, complex FW48 is properly prepared for the Bahrain test and beyond, despite the car having passed all mandatory crash tests.

Why it matters:

Skipping valuable pre-season track time is a significant gamble for any F1 team, especially one like Williams which is rebuilding. The choice highlights the immense pressure and logistical challenges teams face under the sweeping 2026 technical regulations, forcing a calculated trade-off between immediate data gathering and long-term race readiness.

The details:

• Vowles confirmed the 2026 FW48 has passed all mandatory crash tests and will be ready for the official Bahrain test on February 11, with a 200km filming day planned beforehand.
• The core reason for skipping Barcelona was the unprecedented complexity of the new car, which Vowles described as "about three times more complicated" than previous models, overwhelming the team's production system and causing parts delays.
• He stated the team could have scrambled to make the shakedown but deemed the cost too high, as it would have "turn[ed] upside down the impact on spares, components and updates across Bahrain, Melbourne and beyond."
• The evaluation concluded that running in cold, damp Barcelona conditions offered "zero points" compared to conducting Virtual Track Tests and securing the spare parts pool needed for the early race weekends.

What's next:

All eyes will be on Williams' performance when the FW48 finally hits the track in Bahrain. The team's strategic sacrifice will be judged by its reliability and pace in the opening rounds. If the car is competitive from the outset, the missed shakedown will be seen as a masterstroke in resource management. If problems arise, the lack of real-world running will come under intense scrutiny.