LWOS has provided extensive coverage about Williams and their work towards 2026. The British squad have made big sacrifices over the last eighteen months to achieve the best possible starting point for the new regulations.
Whilst there is a risk of overinflating things during the winter break, the speed of travel at Williams is genuine.
Team principal James Vowles has revealed that several milestones have already been met.
Williams are certainly not the only team making good strides, but all evidence suggests they are further along than most in their development journey.
James Vowles reveals Williams preparations for Barcelona shakedown
For those who have read any of our recent coverage, Williams’ strategy for the 2026 regulations will be familiar.
The British team have been focused on next season’s cars since the beginning of the year, essentially abandoning any meaningful development on their 2025 car.
Given James Vowles’ ambitions of making Williams a title-winning organisation, this choice was a no-brainer. The aim is to catch some of the front-runners (who expended at least some resources on this year’s package) off-guard.
Having the Mercedes engine could also be a critical advantage for Williams, especially since they have significantly more hours in the wind tunnel to play with than Mercedes and McLaren.
Speaking with German outlet AMuS, Vowles outlined the impressive deadlines Williams expect to hit:
“The entire car has to be available for the VTT [Virtual Test Track] test bench at the beginning of January.
“We’ll probably be the first team to start that early. We don’t want to be caught off guard again, like we were in 2023.
“After the VTT tests, we will probably do another filming day before the three test days in Barcelona begin.”
No major hiccups expected before the 2026 season
These quotes mean Williams join Audi and Aston Martin on the list of teams expected to have a 200km ‘filming day’ before Barcelona testing on January 26th.
It must be stressed that being early in terms of assembling the 2026 car does not automatically translate into a more competitive car. Red Bull were famous for failing their first crash tests – often needing several attempts before getting FIA approval.
However, this was perfectly fine for Adrian Newey and his technical team. Red Bull were comfortable with taking risks over winter and pushing their design to the limit.
Still, Williams can be satisfied with their trajectory. At least one of the eleven teams are bound to encounter some relatively big issues in the build-up to pre-season testing, and likely during the tests as well.
In this scenario, Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon can be quietly assured their winter tests will run smoothly.
The Grove-based operation is understood to have spent some time producing its components – including spares – for the first few rounds of the season. Not only does this bode well for the first races of 2026, but it should also put Williams in a good position with its mid-season development.
Introducing upgrades is always easier (particularly with a new set of regulations) when the foundations are already in place.
Overall, the sentiment about the Williams project is positive – as it has been for some time. Ultimately, though, only once the cars go on track in testing can the team breathe their first sighs of relief.
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Main photo: Williams Media Gallery