Williams announced well before testing that she would miss the first closed-door session, scheduled for January 26-30 at the Barcelona circuit. Five days in which the teams have the opportunity to shoot only three days each.
The Grove-based company announced it was behind in building the car, apparently failing crash tests, but perhaps because there's always a logical explanation behind every accident, Williams may have found an excuse to evade other teams and address the regulatory change as best he could.
Barcelona Test: There could be a bluff behind Williams' surrender
Thinking about it a bit’… Since this is a team of Mercedes-powered customers, Williams doesn't need to travel miles to test the goodness of the engine. Mercedes, Alpine and McLaren will do it in his place.
Team principal James Vowles may have decided to spend more time building his car, examining what other teams have done (even though these are closed-door tests, they will surely leak information from Barcelona) to understand whether their development program was going in the right direction or not.
Let's not forget that we are in a season governed by budget cap. Audi, for example, has unveiled the livery it intends to use in 2026 using a puppet car (similar to the one proposed by the FIA). It will bring an A version of the car for the first tests in Barcelona, updates to the second session in Bahrain, further updates to the third session also scheduled for Sakhir and further developments to the first weekend of the season in Australia. She won't be the only one. Many teams will make the same choice.
However, in view of the budget ceiling, this will significantly reduce the resources that can be exploited throughout the season. Obviously for top-level teams and those aspiring to become world champions, every lap is crucial to achieving maximum performance. So it is essential that they address all the tests by putting all the resources to rest
Williams, however, while she could potentially be a title contender under the new rules, likely has a better chance of finding a mid-table spot. Thinking in this light, forgoing the first session and saving money could give her the opportunity to take advantage of an extra update. Which could prove very useful in a season marked by a very important regulatory change.
Cover photo: X, Vowles
Internal photo: X, Williams
Read also in italian language: Williams: il modo intelligente di affrontare il cambio regolamentare
