Williams, no tests in Barcelona: the nightmare precedent of 2019

No shakedown in Catalonia On the day of Ferrari’s presentation and shakedown on its home track of Fiorano, the surprise attention was taken by Williams, even though it would have gladly done without it. In fact, the British team has officially communicated its cancellation of the test-shakedowns scheduled for January 26th to 30th in Barcelona. A very hard blow, in terms of ambition and image, for a team that in recent years had done so much to try to move away from the last positions of the grid. The fantastic 2025 season, which ended with fifth place in the Constructors’ ranking and also ennobled by the two podiums obtained by Carlos Sainz, already seems to have been completely wiped out. The precedent of 2019 The absence from the Barcelona tests – which will represent the first official act on track of this new generation of single-seaters – is a sad déjà vu for the Grove team. We go back seven years, to February 2019, when the team founded by Frank Williams experienced perhaps the darkest year in its history. Thanks to a disastrous financial situation, which would then lead to the sale of the team to the American fund Dorilton Capital a year and a half later, the team was unable to complete the design and construction of the FW42 within the expected time frame. The team thus had to miss two of the four days of testing scheduled, also in Barcelona. The then rookie George Russell and the returning Robert Kubica, drivers of the Williams team, were thus only able to take to the track starting from the third day, immediately gaining an enormous competitive disadvantage compared to the competition. That year Williams finished last in the Constructors’ standings, picking up just one point with Kubica in the German GP and only thanks to the double disqualification of the two Saubers. The hope is that this year things can go differently for the historic English team, but certainly starting a new regulatory cycle in this way does not offer an encouraging omen for the near future.