A version of this article originally appeared in PlanetF1.com\u2019s conclusions from the Barcelona shakedown<\/a><\/p>\n A good indication of just how well Audi and Cadillac have done to get to this point came on the penultimate day of running in Barcelona last week.<\/p>\n As most of the other teams were collecting the laps, Williams posted an update on its own 2026 preparations from deep inside the factory at Grove.<\/p>\n \u201cAnother piece of the puzzle complete,\u201d the team captioned an image on social media of Carlos Sainz finally carrying out his seat fit in the 2026 car (below).<\/p>\n Williams\u2019 post of Carlos Sainz\u2019s FW48 seat fit<\/p>\n That\u2019s the same Williams, you\u2019ll recall, which ended car development early last season as part of its masterplan to make the best possible start to 2026.<\/p>\n Despite being the first brand-new team to arrive in F1 in a decade, Cadillac managed to hit that particular milestone an age ago, posting footage of Valtteri Bottas\u2019s seat fit on December 8 \u2013 24 hours after the final race of last season in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n Audi, meanwhile, seemed to consider it a badge of honour when it became the first team to take to the track with its 2026 car for a shakedown on January 9, more than two weeks before the start of the first test.<\/p>\n For all the sense of achievement of making it this far and meeting these early deadlines, however, the Barcelona shakedown was a reminder that both these teams still have a long road ahead.<\/p>\n No team to carry out three days of running this week completed fewer laps than Cadillac (164) with the team managing no more than 66 on a single day.<\/p>\n Audi fared only marginally better, managing a combined 95 laps on its first two days of running before salvaging the situation with 144 laps on the board on Friday.<\/p>\n The team\u2019s suspect reliability \u2013 Gabriel Bortoleto did not reappear on Day 1 after suffering what was confirmed as a \u201ctechnical issue\u201d before the lunch break<\/a> \u2013 also did nothing to eradicate long-held fears over the Audi engine<\/a>.<\/p>\n It took no shortage of hard work for these teams to make the start of testing.<\/p>\n Yet Audi and Cadillac are finding out that the real hard work is only just beginning.<\/p>\n Nico Hulkenberg: Audi F1 has found \u2018the direction\u2019 after Barcelona<\/p>\n Perhaps a muted start to testing will prove a good thing for Audi F1 over the long term.<\/p>\n In a post to social media the end of the Barcelona shakedown, Nico Hulkenberg suggested that Audi now \u201cknow the direction\u201d to take in 2026 as a result of its experiences in Spain.<\/p>\n Hulkenberg\u2019s post came after Mattia Binotto, the head of what has become known as the \u2018Audi F1 project\u2019, offered a frank assessment of the team\u2019s test.<\/p>\n Asked about the team\u2019s plans ahead of the second test in Bahrain, Binotto told Formula 1:\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of work. It\u2019s a lot of work for the entire team.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of work for the drivers, for the engineers back at home, fixing all the problems \u2013 design, operational, whatever we have seen.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it\u2019s really, for us, no stones unturned. All the details need to be somehow managed and need to be fixed.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we\u2019ve got a very long list \u2013 a very, very long list. I\u2019ve never seen such a long list.<\/p>\n \u201cBut again, I think it\u2019s great because the team is really committed, willing to to improve and somehow come to Bahrain in a better shape.\u201d<\/p>\n Binotto went on to insist that Audi is \u201cdoing well for where we are in our journey.\u201d<\/p>\n Cadillac F1 set for second filming day ahead of Bahrain test<\/p>\n Additional reporting by Thomas Maher<\/p>\n Cadillac is set to hold a second filming tomorrow (Monday) ahead of the start of the second test in Bahrain, PlanetF1.com understands.<\/p>\n The American team was among the first teams to take to the track in 2026, using up its first filming day at Silverstone on January 16.<\/p>\n However, Cadillac\u2019s 164 laps in Barcelona left the team 76 adrift of next-best Audi and 336 behind Mercedes, which completed the most laps of all in Spain with 500.<\/p>\n Teams are allowed two filming days \u2013 primarily used to collect material for promotional and commercial purposes \u2013 with their current cars each season.<\/p>\n Cadillac\u2019s latest filming day will fall two days before the start of the first Bahrain test, which is to be held across February 11-13.<\/p>\n The filming day is also likely to see the team take to the track with its full F1 2026 livery for the first time.<\/p>\n Cadillac\u2019s permanent livery will be revealed in an advertisement during the Super Bowl later today.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n![\"Carlos](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/carlos-sainz-williams-fw48-f1-2026-seat-fit-tweet-410x424.jpeg\")
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