Williams won’t be rolling out of the garage in Barcelona next week, and that single fact is enough to set paddock tongues wagging before a wheel has even turned in anger in 2026.
The team has confirmed it will miss the entire five-day shakedown at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, pointing to “delays in the FW48 programme”. Under the rules for the behind-closed-doors running, teams can operate one car for a maximum of three days across the five-day window. Even with the usual mix of partial attendance — McLaren and Ferrari are among those sitting out the opening day — Williams’ decision to skip the lot is the standout.
Carlos Sainz, who arrived at Grove for 2025 with one eye very firmly on what this regulation reset could offer, has publicly backed the call. Posting on his Instagram story, Sainz struck the tone you’d expect from a driver who understands how quickly reputations are made — and lost — in a new rules era: “We are committed to keep pushing flat out! Can’t wait to hit the track soon.”
That message matters, because it’s easy to look at “delays” and reach for the panic button. But there’s a difference between being late and being lost — and Williams is clearly trying to frame this as a conscious choice about priorities rather than an uncontrolled slide. The team says it’s opting to “push for maximum performance” with its 2026 car ahead of the first official pre-season test in Bahrain in February, rather than rushing to get mileage in Barcelona for the sake of it.
Instead of shakedown laps, Williams will run what it describes as a “series of tests including a VTT [Virtual Test Track] programme” next week using the 2026 machine as it builds towards Bahrain and the season opener in Melbourne.
It’s a very modern admission, and one that reflects where the sport is heading: mileage isn’t the only currency anymore, and it’s not always the most valuable one. If you’re not confident the car you’d take to Barcelona is representative — or if you’re still in the phase where late-stage build decisions are likely to change fundamental parts of the package — then a closed shakedown can become a noisy distraction. There’s also the very real cost of early running when you’re not ready: not just in potential reliability failures, but in burning through finite component life, stressing staff, and locking in set-ups that you’ll immediately want to throw away once the “real” spec is ready.
Williams did at least offer a small reassurance recently by sharing that the new car has been fired up for the first time. That’s not a substitute for track time, but it does suggest this isn’t a programme stuck in neutral — more that it’s arriving later than planned.
The flip side is obvious. In a year where everyone is learning, every lap has disproportionate value. Barcelona running is limited and controlled, yes, but it’s still an early chance to calibrate correlation, shake out procedures, and let drivers start building the muscle memory that turns a new generation of cars from “interesting” into “fast”. Missing all five days means Sainz and Williams’ other driver will be watching rivals start that process while they’re still doing it virtually.
And this is where Sainz’s role becomes intriguing. He’s not a rookie being asked to wait quietly. He’s a driver who’s seen how a front-running operation uses winter mileage, who understands the tiny operational details that separate teams once the lights go out, and who joined Williams in part because of what it believed it could do under the 2026 rules. That makes his public support more than a throwaway line; it’s a signal to the outside world — and perhaps to those inside the team — that the response to a setback is composure, not finger-pointing.
Williams, for its part, is trying to keep the story pointed forwards. “We are looking forward to getting on track in the coming weeks,” the team said, “and want to thank all our fans for your continued support – there is a lot to look forward to together in 2026.”
That’s the bet: that the time gained by not rushing Barcelona will be worth more than the time lost by not running there at all. We’ll get the first meaningful read on whether it was the right call when Bahrain arrives — because whatever the marketing line, the stopwatch doesn’t do sympathy, and 2026 won’t wait for anyone.
