Williams team boss James Vowles may not have had a car circulating at last week’s Barcelona shakedown, but make no mistake – he was watching every lap like a hawk.
From afar, armed with data streams and rival whispers, Vowles has already begun sketching a mental pecking order for Formula 1’s bold 2026 reset. And while Ferrari caught his eye for one reason, it also left him wondering about another: raw speed.
Production delays left Williams as the only team absent from the private running, a conspicuous empty space in a paddock otherwise buzzing with new-era machinery.
Yet Vowles insists missing track time did not mean missing insight. If anything, it turned him into one of the most attentive observers of all.
Ferrari Reliable… But How Fast?
Speaking at the Williams season launch, Vowles delivered a measured but pointed assessment of the competition. Ferrari, he suggested, looked polished and dependable – but perhaps not yet terrifying.
“I’ve been really impressed with Red Bull, especially on the power unit side,” Vowles said. “To do a power unit from scratch and turn up to be that reliable is mighty. Well done to them.
“Number two, Ferrari’s consistency. Perhaps the outright pace is in question, but the consistency is really impressive for them again from the get-go.
“And Mercedes always. I’ve been there for a long time; they’re very good at getting regulation change right and walking out with a package that’s just robust and reliable. But if you are doing a race sim just about a day into testing, it’s very impressive.”
It was praise wrapped in curiosity. Ferrari’s mileage came without the hiccups that often plague fresh regulations, but in a sport where tenths of a second define dominance, “consistent” is not always synonymous with “fast”, even despite Lewis Hamilton’s benchmark lap on the final day of running.
Vowles’ tone hinted at a Scuderia that looks secure – yet not necessarily supreme.
Williams’ Virtual Gamble
While rivals gathered precious asphalt data, Williams leaned into the digital realm. Virtual Track Testing, extended simulator sessions, and shared technical feedback from Mercedes formed the backbone of their preparation. It was a different route, but one Vowles believes could still lead to the same destination.
“I would have much preferred to have been in Barcelona,” Vowles said. “That was the goal. That was what we were intending to do. We did not achieve it.
“However, what we did in terms of a week of VTT [Virtual Track Testing] that was successful and what we’ve been doing with both Carlos [Sainz] and Alex [Albon] on the simulator in tandem to while everyone else was in Barcelona, in addition, and we are fortunate that Mercedes had sufficient runners.
©Williams
“So, there was quite a bit of information coming back on the gearbox and power unit that enables us to get ahead when we come to Bahrain.
“That means, I do not believe that with six days of testing we’ll be on the back foot.”
It’s a confident stance – one that reframes absence as strategy rather than setback.
After a 2025 season that saw Williams climb to fifth in the constructors’ standings, expectations are no longer modest. The Grove outfit isn’t aiming merely to participate in the new era; it intends to disrupt it.
As the grid barrels toward the season opener in Australia, Vowles’ comments add a tantalizing subplot: Ferrari may be steady, Red Bull may be powerful, Mercedes may be methodical – and Williams, quietly, may be preparing a surprise forged not on the track in Barcelona, but in the glow of simulator screens and shared data pipelines.
The stopwatch will soon reveal whether Ferrari’s consistency hides untapped fury… or merely masks a missing edge.
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