McLaren has confirmed it will miss the first day of Formula 1 pre-season testing in Barcelona, in a decision that reveals much about the reigning champion’s 2026 preparations.
As F1 teams prepare to run their cars in anger for the first time next week in Barcelona, attention is turning to the programmes teams will run.
Mileage in pre-season is crucial to understand a new car, given the strict limits the FIA place on testing, with only three four day tests available to shakedown.
However, in a surprising move, McLaren has confirmed it will not run the new MCL40 on the first day of at F1’s closed test.
Team Principal Andrea Stella confirmed the decision, announcing the car is still on the dyno in Austria.
“It’s a facility at AVL [in Austria] that we have been using for some time, and that’s where the car is at the moment”, said Stella at a pre-season event at the McLaren Technology Centre.
“Then the car will be in Barcelona for the shakedown on track. This will happen directly at the test. We plan to start testing either on day two or day three, so we will not be testing on day one.”
Why McLaren is missing the first day of testing
Explaining the rationale behind the decision, Stella said that further time for development was McLaren’s immediate priority.
“We wanted to give ourselves as much time as possible for development. You all may know that you are allowed to test three days over the five that are available in Barcelona.
“Then we will start from, like I said, either day two or day three, and we will test for three days.”
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