One worrying rumour about Williams’ 2026 F1 car is actually ‘wide of the mark’

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Williams have had the worst start to the 2026 F1 season of any team, and will miss the entire first pre-season test in Barcelona.

Instead, they’ll be doing their own running on a dyno at their factory in Grove, simulating as close to reality as possible. What it won’t make up for is the track time and learning their drivers will miss.

Williams are supplied by Mercedes this year, who seem to have made a good start to running themselves, so that’s one less headache for them to worry about.

But there are going to be many questions to answer in Bahrain, and a heavy workload for both Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon before the first race in Melbourne.

What impact will Williams missing the Barcelona shakedown test have on their 2026 season?

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Williams staff are not surprised they missed the first test this week, which even new team Cadillac made, running on the first day.

Williams have ‘one saving grace’, and that’s the impressive reliability shown by the Silver Arrows this week, suggesting they have a strong engine at this early stage.

READ MORE: Another F1 team are now struggling to pass 2026 FIA crash tests after Williams

Rumours about Williams’ 2026 F1 car are ‘wide of the mark’

James Vowles has already broken a promise to Williams fans after being sure that there would end up being ‘no delays’ this year.

In fairness to them, Aston Martin will also be losing at least one day of running, as they aim to turn up for the final two days of the test on Thursday and Friday.

Helmut Marko had heard good things about Williams just a few weeks ago, but now everyone has been left wondering what issues they face with their new car.

It’s not exactly optimal from a development standpoint to be losing a week of running, and there’s going to be a catch-up period that follows.

Speaking on X, Thomas Maher has revealed that any suggestion that the team failed their crash tests after pre-season testing started are false.

“Have also heard the chassis passed all relevant stress and crash tests in advance of Barcelona, and rumours of being overweight (to any great extent anyway!) are wide of the mark,” he said.

READ MORE: Williams insiders always complained that one F1 race winner never ‘listened’ to feedback

Why the start of the 2026 F1 season is so disappointing for Williams

Williams were one of the first teams to focus on the 2026 F1 regulations, after making the bold decision to abandon their 2025 car earlier than most competitors.

Realistically, that should’ve put them ahead of the game by now, but instead, they’re at the back. If they start slowly when they do hit the track, there’ll be questions to answer.

They fall on team boss James Vowles, who, up until now, was looking like an excellent appointment for them a few years ago.

The infrastructure he has put in hasn’t quite delivered the desired results, and now he must lead a turnaround before the Australian Grand Prix.