Williams boss James Vowles remains “very confident” the team will limit any losses from missing last week’s pre-season shakedown.
The Grove-based outfit was the only one not to run in Barcelona, leaving them just six days in Bahrain later this month ahead of Formula 1’s opening race in Australia.
Williams has since revealed its livery for the upcoming season, but questions have remained about potential failed crash tests and weight issues.
Vowles has dismissed them, however, claiming that all tests have been passed and that the team is in a good place.
“I would have much preferred to be in Barcelona, that was the goal, that was what we intended. We did not achieve it,” he admitted in a media session.
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“However, what we did, in terms of a week’s worth of VTT (Virtual Track Testing), was successful, and what we’ve been doing with both Carlos [Sainz] and Alex [Albon] whilst everyone else was in Barcelona.
“In addition, we are fortunate that Mercedes has sufficient runners that there’s quite a bit of information coming back on both the gearbox and the power unit that enables us to get ahead when we come to Bahrain.
“Which means, I do not believe with six days testing, we’ll be on the back foot.
“A little bit of that’s fortune because the power unit is reliable, the gearbox is reliable, and the VTT testing flushed out a lot of the demons that are buried in the car.”
Admiring the FW48 livery from every angle 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zWlQ48kRN5
— Atlassian Williams F1 Team (@WilliamsF1) February 3, 2026
Asked where Williams is behind, Vowles replied: “What’s missing is there’s a lot of knowledge for the drivers to inherently perfect what’s going on on track.
“What’s missing is a correlation for where the aerodynamics really are. Track data is the only way of establishing that.
“So there is a loss, but with six days of testing with our driver in-loop simulator that we invested in a state-of-the-art, I’m very confident that we are able to mitigate a lot of those.”
Williams “pushing the boundaries”
Vowles also reiterated that Williams’ current issues were not a sign of decline at the historic team, but instead part of its pursuit of growth.
“It clearly wasn’t our plan, and it’s incredibly painful, but I do want it to be acknowledged as the result of our determination to push the limits of performance under the new regulations,” he said.
“We are transforming here in Williams, and fast. One of the tasks that has 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 by pushing the boundaries and limits hard and aggressively and finding your limitations.
“There’s no point being just underneath the curve or 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.”
