Williams Components 1 staff boss James Vowles says it’s “extremely painful” for his squad to overlook out on the Barcelona shakedown this week, and has denied rumours the staff’s automobile will likely be considerably obese.
Final week, Williams determined to desert its plans to attend F1’s first testing alternative of the 2026 pre-season in Barcelona, shedding three days of working in Spain.
The explanation given was “delays within the FW48 programme”, which led to hypothesis that the Grove-based squad had missed its crash exams and had wanted to strengthen its automobile significantly because of this – resulting in an obese chassis for the beginning of the 2026 marketing campaign.
Explaining Williams’ points intimately to chose media, Vowles owned as much as the staff biting off greater than it may chew in its manufacturing course of. He additionally confirmed the staff handed the required crash exams and will run in Bahrain, and denied that its points will lead to a major weight penalty.
James Vowles, Williams
Picture by: Zak Mauger / LAT Photos through Getty Photos
“The automobile this yr that we have constructed is about 3 times extra difficult than something we’ve put by way of our enterprise beforehand,” Vowles defined. “It means the quantity of load going by way of our system is about 3 times what it was once. And we began falling somewhat bit behind and late on elements.
“Along with that, we’ve completely pushed the boundaries of what we’re doing in sure areas, and a kind of is in sure corresponding exams that go along with it. However these have been solely a blip within the grand scheme of issues.
“They’re one merchandise out of fairly a number of that have been pushing us completely past the restrict of what we will obtain within the house of time that we’ve obtainable to us. So, it is extra of an output of pushing not simply the boundaries of design, however the boundaries of merely what number of elements will be pushed by way of a manufacturing unit in a really quick house of time.”
On the automobile weight rumours, he added: “There is not any information for the load till we get to the second Bahrain take a look at when it comes to understanding the place it’s. It’s essential to get all of the sensor packs off to really perceive the place we’re. It is unattainable to realize it since you want the automobile collectively with out sensors in the fitting type, and that does not exist right this moment.
“The numbers we’re speaking about are most likely sufficiently small that I must see the automobile weighed to ensure that me to have the ability to assess the place we’re. So, it isn’t miles over to that time. Proper now, something that you simply’re seeing as murmurings within the media are murmurings.”
Vowles clarified that Williams may have made the Barcelona take a look at in spite of everything, however that might have offered the staff with a spare elements threat for the early a part of the season that he wasn’t comfy taking.
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“We may have made Barcelona testing, easy as that. However in doing so, I must flip the wrong way up the affect on spares elements and updates throughout Bahrain, Melbourne and past,” he defined.
“The analysis of it was that for working in a chilly damp Barcelona in opposition to doing a digital observe take a look at in opposition to the spare scenario – and albeit, there was zero factors for working in a shakedown take a look at – we made the choice.
“I stand by it that the fitting factor to do is to ensure we’re turning up at Bahrain appropriately ready and ready in Melbourne as properly.”
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