Why Williams F1 team were absent in Barcelona

Williams F1 and team principal James Vowles had lofty ambitions for the sport’s new regulations era, but heading into this weekend's Barcelona Grand Prix, it is clear that reality has not matched those expectations

When four-time grand prix winner Carlos Sainz was displaced at Ferrari, pretty much every other team on the grid made moves to snap up the Spaniard.

But it was Vowles who convinced him to sign after sharing his dream of returning Williams to their championship-winning glory, so what went wrong to leave the Grove-based outfit sat down in eighth in the championship after six rounds?

To answer that we must go back to before the 2026 campaign had even begun when Williams announced their decision to pull out of the Barcelona shakedown.

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Why did Williams not take part in pre-season Barcelona shakedown?

With such a monumental overhaul of both the chassis and power unit regulations coming into play for 2026, all the teams and drivers were given triple the amount of pre-season testing they are usually allowed.

Instead of just three days in there was a five-day event held behind closed doors at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya between January 26 and January 30, 2026. Teams were only permitted to run for a maximum of three of those days with the extended official six-day pre-season testing then taking place in Bahrain the following month.

But Williams made it to a grand total of zero of those days in Barcelona following rumours their car had failed to pass a compulsory crash test prior to the event.

They never addressed these rumours but a team statement released earlier this year prior to the shakedown read: "Atlassian 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 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."

Vowles takes responsibility for F1 2026 mistakes

In the months that have followed, Williams and their driver duo of Sainz and Alex Albon have managed to break through the pack on occasion, picking up double points for the first time this year in Miami.

Ahead of the Miami race weekend, Vowles admitted Williams' preparation for the FW48 had gone badly, telling the media they had suffered 'a really messy winter', something he reaffirmed in Monaco last time out that he would never allow again.

But they still have a long way to go and ironically, Sainz's maiden season with the squad was much more impressive than his sophomore campaign thanks to his two podium appearances he picked up in 2025.

Speaking in the principality last weekend, even Sainz himself couldn't quite recall the promises Vowles had made to him regarding Williams' competitive improvements.

The 31-year-old's contract with the team is set to expire at the end of this season unless he signs an extension, something he seemed interested in when telling media in Monaco that his priorities continued to lie with Williams.

“I know I obviously need to take a decision this year about my future but at the same time, I made it very clear to Williams and to my management team that my priority is to make this project work," said Sainz prior to his DNF in the principality.

Williams will make their 2026 debut on the Barcelona circuit this weekend.

What time is the 2026 F1 Barcelona Grand Prix?

These are the confirmed F1 sessions for this weekend's Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix:

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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