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With a new era of regulations now upon us, the upcoming shakedown in Barcelona is vital for addressing any teething issues that F1 teams have with their new cars.
Over the five days that Formula 1 is taking over the Circuit de Barcelona for the grid’s initial shakedown test next week, teams are only permitted to take to the track on three of them.
Simply leaving the pit lane will chalk off an allocated day of testing, meaning that every team on the grid will need to make the absolute most of their time on track, or risk falling behind their more prepared rivals.
The week of testing was meant to be held behind closed doors, but fans will instead get a comprehensive highlights package after each day’s running to substantiate their hunger for the new season.
- READ MORE: F1 ‘whispers’ about Cadillac suggest they were ‘struggling’ with one aspect of their first 2026 test
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Rain forecasts could scupper Ferrari and McLaren’s late starts at Barcelona shakedown
According to a report by Motorsport Italia, Ferrari and McLaren’s plans to sit out the first day of running may be in danger due to the rain that has been forecast for the following days.
Monday is expected to be dry, but the weather is forecast to worsen as the week continues. Potential showers could reduce track time drastically.
The reason behind both F1 teams’ decision not to take the track on the first day is that they want to give their respective engineers more time to ‘optimise development’ and refine the ‘final details’ of their new F1 cars.
Alpine, on the other hand, have opted for a ‘different approach’. The Enstone-based outfit has confirmed that they will be clocking in laps from the very first day in anticipation of the difficult conditions.
Indeed, missing out on an afternoon of running won’t pose any decisive issues in the grand scheme of the whole season, but it will certainly put a team on the back foot ahead of the official tests in the coming weeks.
Ferrari and McLaren simply must rethink their strategy for the upcoming shakedown, and make amendments to the schedule where they can to maximise the amount of beneficial track time they will get.
The extra week of testing is understood to be in response to the ‘PR disaster’ that F1 suffered at the start of the turbo-hybrid era.
2014 served as the most recent campaign where there was a new engine formula, and the early days of track time were marred by several teams not being ready enough to present their new F1 cars.
What impact will Williams missing the Barcelona shakedown test have on their 2026 season?
Williams have already announced they won’t be in Barcelona for the initial shakedown tests
After failing to pass the FIA’s rigorous crash tests for their new 2026 F1 chassis, Williams have announced that they will be absent from the shakedown in Barcelona.
The verdict came as a bit of a shock, given how optimistic team principal James Vowles has been in recent months over the progress that the British constructor were making behind the scenes.
Unfortunately, Vowles has broken one of his promises to Williams’ F1 fans, after asserting that the Grove-based outfit would not experience any delays ahead of the new year.
The announcement had shades of Williams’ announcement in 2019, where they declared that they would turn up late to pre-season testing due to their car not being ready in time.
One of the worst periods in the history of the famously independent constructor ensued, and Vowles will be hoping that history doesn’t repeat itself.
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