Williams provides clarity on next steps after missing out on Barcelona test

Last week, it was announced through a statement that Williams will not be present at the first pre-season test of the 2026 season at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Now, Vowles confirmed that they will be ready for the Bahrain test, and also have a shakedown planed.

He told a select group of media, including GPblog: "I wanted to make sure we updated you on the FW48, the test that we've been doing following our decision not to attend the shakedown in Barcelona.

"It clearly wasn't our plan and it's incredibly painful but I do want it to be acknowledged it's the result of our determination to push the limits of performance under the new regulations we are transforming here at Williams and fast.

"One of the the tasks that have been on my shoulders for a few years is making sure we transform this business at the absolute maximum rate possible and in my experience the only way you achieve that is pushing the boundaries and limits hard and aggressively and find your limitations.

"There's no point being just underneath the curve if you want to transform at speed, you need to find the pain points and put them right very quickly, which is exactly what we're doing.

"I'm confident in our decision to miss Barcelona and I'm confident it was the right one to prepare for the first test in Bahrain and Melbourne."

Vowles says the team have also now received the full approval of the FIA for this year's car design after it passed strict crash tests.

He added: "I'm pleased to say that we've passed all necessary tests and we're ready to run in Bahrain and we'll carry out a promotional filming day ahead of it. We're also carrying out a VTT [Virtual Track Test] as a physical car testing rig.

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