McLaren has released the first renders of its 2026 Formula One challenger, the MCL40, presenting the car in a temporary black‑and‑silver testing livery ahead of its private running at the Circuit de Barcelona‑Catalunya.
The images offer an initial indication of the team’s design direction as it prepares to defend both world championship titles under the radically revised 2026 technical regulations.
The Woking outfit dominated the 2025 season, securing the constructors’ championship well before Lando Norris clinched the drivers’ crown in Abu Dhabi. With the introduction of new chassis, power unit, and tyre rules for 2026, the MCL40 represents a clean‑sheet design intended to maintain McLaren’s competitive position in a fundamentally reshaped regulatory landscape.
Design characteristics
Although the team has only released renders rather than physical photography, several notable features are visible. The MCL40 adopts a drooped nose concept, lowering the forward aerodynamic structure and influencing the front‑wing interaction. The car also features ramped sidepods, directing airflow aggressively along the bodywork in line with the new aerodynamic framework.
McLaren has additionally reverted to a push‑rod front suspension layout, reversing its previous configuration. This change suggests a revised approach to mechanical platform control and aerodynamic packaging under the 2026 ruleset.
The monochrome livery also highlights the team’s expanded partnership with Mastercard, whose branding appears with increased prominence on the test car. The full race livery will be revealed ahead of pre‑season running in Bahrain.
Stella: unprecedented scale of redesign
Team principal Andrea Stella emphasised the magnitude of the 2026 project, noting that the combined regulatory changes have created one of the most demanding development cycles in the team’s recent history.
“There’s been so much work behind the design, the realisation, the build of the 2026 cars,” said Andrea Stella.
“What I can remember for me, it’s almost unprecedented, not only in terms of the changes themselves, because I think never before there’s been such a huge and simultaneous change of chassis, power unit and tyres.
“But even the sheer volume of redesigning that went through the last 20 months, I would say, at McLaren has been probably the biggest design or in general dealing with a new car project that I was a part of.”
Stella added that the competitive order is likely to be reshuffled as teams adapt to the new regulations.
“This all makes it extremely interesting to see how the cars will perform, how the competitiveness order will be somehow mixed up. We are champions, but we don’t carry the being champions into ’26.
“Everyone will start from the starting blocks. Everyone will start from zero.”
Testing livery = unlocked 🖤🔓 pic.twitter.com/PpTcWjneBO
— McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team 🧡 (@McLarenF1) January 26, 2026
Testing approach
McLaren will not run on the opening day of the Barcelona test, as teams are permitted to participate on only three of the five available days. The team has opted for a later shakedown, aligning with its aggressive development schedule.
“Our internal narrative is anything we will achieve, we will have to deserve it and we will have to earn it on the ground. So that’s our mindset, that’s our philosophy.
“This is why we’ve been ambitious with the 2026 car at the same time, because it’s such a level of redesign. You also have to be cautious to make sure that you actually have a car, that you realise it in time, that you build it in time.
“And so far, I have to say that our program is going on plan, something which obviously we are happy with and it gives me the chance to thank the entire team for having been able to realise the 2026 car.”