Alex Albon breaks silence over Williams F1 testing absence

Williams F1 driver Alex Albon has issued his response to team boss James Vowles' statement about the team's pre-season testing involvement.

The Grove-based outfit are not in Barcelona this week for the five-day private shakedown, with all of the other teams getting in vital mileage in their new machinery.

Teams have nine days of testing available to them this year, due to the implementation of wholesale regulation changes, with the FIA and F1 giving teams more time to iron out any potential problems.

But Williams will only have six days, with the FW48 not having completed all of the tests that it needed to go through in order to get out onto the track, and Williams made the decision not to run in Barcelona.

Earlier this week, however, Vowles did reveal that they will be at the first of the two three-day testing events in Bahrain next month, which will likely be more representative when it comes to lap times.

In the social media video confirming the news, Vowles also explained some of the tests that they are running with their new FW48 car away from Barcelona.

And Albon commented on the post ahead of his return to the track with his Williams team, remaining upbeat as he wrote: "We work together and never give up no matter what @‌williamsf1official! Can’t wait to get back behind the wheel!"

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Williams starting on the back foot

All of the 10 other F1 teams are managing to get some decent mileage in during this five-day Barcelona shakedown, even Aston Martin who have only been present for the final two days.

In this sense, Williams will be starting off on the back foot in 2026, but they may be helped by the fact that they have a Mercedes power unit in their car.

Mercedes are rumoured to be best placed to master the power unit regulations, and this could give the Grove-based outfit a real boost, knowing that they can rely on power unit reliability.

Albon and Carlos Sainz will be itching to get out onto the track, however, with both drivers hoping that they can more regularly challenge for podiums in 2026.

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