McLaren unveils striking black MCL40 ahead of delayed F1 2026 testing debut

McLaren may not be testing at Barcelona on Monday, having announced the MCL40 won’t be in action on Day One, but it still stole the show as the day’s action began by revealing a striking black testing livery.

Pre-season testing officially began on Monday morning in Spain, but McLaren wasn’t one of the teams to take to the track, opting to sit out Day One.

From papaya to black, McLaren reveals striking testing livery

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“We will not be testing in day one,” team principal Andrea Stella told a small group of select media, including PlanetF1.com, earlier this month.

“We wanted to give ourselves as much time as possible for development. You are allowed to test three days over the five that are available in Barcelona. We will start from either day two or day three and we will test for three days.”

The team, though, still stole the show.

Dropping its traditional papaya orange, McLaren revealed a new black livery for the Barcelona outing.

McLaren heads into the new season as the reigning World Champions having claimed both the Constructors’ and Drivers’ titles last season, with Lando Norris becoming a first-time World Champion in an intense run-in to the line that saw him beat Max Verstappen by a mere two points.

This season, though, it’s all change.

Not only has Formula 1 introduced smaller, lighter cars that incorporate active aerodynamics, the engine formula has also been tweaked.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown is relishing the challenge.

“Now we got to do it all over again,” he told PlanetF1.com and other media in Abu Dhabi, “and it’ll be tough, because, as I say, the worst team in Formula 1 is really good.

“There’s no more small teams anymore. There’s none of those minnow teams that we all grew up with.

“Everyone’s running at the cost cap. The sports unbelievably healthy and, yeah, it’s been very enjoyable, and looking forward to.”

McLaren will officially launch the MCL40 on 9 February.

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