McLaren saw its first day of Formula 1 testing in Barcelona end on a low note following a serious issue for Oscar Piastri in the new MCL40 on Thursday afternoon.
After missing the first two days of the closed Barcelona test, McLaren finally debuted the new MCL40 at Barcelona as the reigning champions prepare for 2026.
After Lando Norris took to the circuit on Wednesday, Oscar Piastri assumed duties on Thursday as the team got to grips with their new challenger.
Showcasing a black testing livery, the new car ran into issues in the second half of the day, curtailing running and adding complications to their run plan.
Piastri was initially pleased to begin to form a relationship with his new car ahead of a potentially unpredictable season.
“It was nice to be back out today, especially in the new car,” he said after Thursday’s session.
“There’s a lot of challenges this year up and down the grid, so it was good to get stuck in.”
Oscar Piastri confident of Friday reprieve
Confirming a fuel system issue was the cause of his curtailed afternoon the Australian is confident of returning to the track on Friday, putting pressure on McLaren to rectify the problem with just one day of testing left.
“We had a fuel system issue, which cut our day short, but the team’s working hard to get that fixed and back out tomorrow.
“These cars are completely different to what we’ve had the last few years.
“That’s part of what this test is about. We’ve already identified a few things that we can try to improve on the car to make it feel a bit nicer.
“We have one more day of running tomorrow. We’ll continue to get used to the car and get a good read on how different things feel.
“Then we’ll find a good direction to make the car quicker and feel nicer.”
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