McLaren F1 2026 car sold for huge $11.4m in world-first auction

McLaren’s new car for the F1 2026 season, the MCL40A, has been sold for an eye-watering $11.4million in a world-first auction.

McLaren enjoyed a stunning F1 2025 season, winning 14 of a possible 24 races to secure a drivers’ and constructors’ championship double for the first time since 1998.

McLaren F1 2026 car sold for $11.4million at auction

Lando Norris became the eighth McLaren driver – and the first since Lewis Hamilton in 2008 – to win the drivers’ title at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix earlier this month.

McLaren will aim to defend its titles in F1 2026, a season in which both the chassis and engine regulations will be overhauled simultaneously.

F1 will embrace 50 per cent electrification, fully sustainable fuels and active aerodynamics next season in some of the biggest rule changes in the sport’s history.

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As reported by PlanetF1.com, it emerged in August that McLaren had made its 2026 car available for auction before it had even taken to the track.

The MCL40A was sold earlier this month, fetching a price of $11,480,000 (£8.5m/€9.7m at current exchange rates), making it the sixth-most expensive F1 car to be sold at auction.

The record belongs to the 1954 Mercedes W196R Streamliner, which was sold for €51,155,000 (£37.9m/€43.4m) in February 2025.

The car will be delivered to the winning bidder in the first quarter of 2028 and will arrive with a complete 2026-spec Mercedes power unit and presented in its 2026 livery.

In the meantime, McLaren is to provide a showcar of its 2025 machine to the winning bidder for display purposes.

The sale also includes an invitation for the winning bidder and five guests to meet chief executive Zak Brown, plus Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri, at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking ahead of the 2026 season.

The package also offers the chance for the winning bidder to attend the public launch of the MCL40 and enjoy hospitality experiences at two F1 races – including the Monaco Grand Prix – plus access to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Indianapolis 500.

Lando Norris vs Oscar Piastri: McLaren head-to-head scores for F1 2025

F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

The ‘so-called Triple Crown’ auction also offered bidders the chance to get their hands on a 2026-spec Arrow McLaren IndyCar and the team’s hypercar for its 2027 World Endurance Championship entry.

The IndyCar was sold for $848,750 (£629,195/€720,716) with the yet-to-be-launched hypercar fetching $7,598,750 (£5.6m/€6.4m) at auction.

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Read next: Maybe now Lando Norris will realise how good he is