Williams announce they will not take part in Barcelona Shakedown

Williams have announced that they will not take part in the upcoming Barcelona Shakedown, explaining that they are pursuing "maximum car performance" for 2026.

The shakedown, which will see teams get the opportunity to run their new challengers for three days over January 26-30 at the Circuit Barcelona-Catalunya, offers more track time in addition to the usual pre-season testing in Bahrain to help with the transition to the adjusted regulations.

While Williams will not make an appearance, they will carry out their own private testing ahead of the first official test in Bahrain, taking place on February 11-13.

In an official statement, the team said: "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 [Virtual Track Testing] 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."