Williams has announced that they will miss the Barcelona shakedown, due to take place between the 26 and 30th of January.
The Oxfordhsire based team announced that due to “delays in the FW48 programme” the car would not be ready for the shakedown.
Instead the team will undertake a “series of tests” next week to ensure they are ready for the Bahrain test which starts on the 11th of February.
According to the BBC, a spokesperson for the team said it was a “bitter engineering outcome” that acted as “a reminder we’re not at the championship level we need to be at.”
The team ended the 2025 season fifth overall in the constructers standings with new-signing Carlos Sainz managing two podiums.
With new regulations for 2026 the team will miss out on three days of crucial, private testing.
Teams will run a maximum of three of a possible five days available to gather information ahead of the first race in Melbourne on the 8th of March.
Rumours continue to circle on the reasons behind the team’s withdrawal from the test. Many claim the car, which is said to be overweight, failed several crash tests ahead of the Barcelona test.
Feature image courtesy of Formula 1