McLaren MCL40 debuts with Norris running number ‘1’ as Audi stops in Barcelona

The on-track action ramped up on the morning of Day 3 at the Barcelona shakedown, which included the first appearance for McLaren.

Lando Norris rolled out onto the circuit, carrying the number ‘1’ for the first time in his F1 career on the McLaren MCL40, as the challenger broke cover. There was a further setback for Audi, meanwhile, while Oliver Bearman and Haas also triggered a red flag.

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After a rainy second day in Barcelona which saw only Red Bull and Ferrari take to the track, the morning of Day 3 promised to be a busier session under sunny skies.

One team which confirmed that it would not be in action was Red Bull.

After Isack Hadjar’s confirmed crash late in Day 2, team boss Laurent Mekies said that Red Bull would “try our best to repair the car”, but with only one of its three days to run remaining, Mekies admitted that to “play that card carefully” was a must.

But, there was no shortage of action, with Mercedes, Racing Bulls, Audi and Haas all soon out on track as the light went green.

George Russell began pumping in the laps at the wheel of his Mercedes W17, while Audi, as Red Bull reportedly did yesterday, went out with aero rakes allegedly attached to the R26 driven by Nico Hulkenberg.

This was significant, as for those teams, it potentially suggests progression beyond systems checks, to performance validation.

Audi’s morning was disrupted when Hulkenberg came to a stop, between Turns 9 and 10, triggering a red flag. The car was loaded onto a recovery truck and returned to the garage.

It was not ideal for Audi, the F1 newcomers having seen its opening day of action on Day 1 disrupted by a “technical issue” for Gabriel Bortoleto.

The return to green proved brief, Oliver Bearman this time the driver to come to a stop in his Haas VF-26. The truck was called back into action for a fresh recovery mission.

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90 minutes into the session and there were no such troubles for Alpine’s Franco Colapinto. He reportedly was setting the pace on a 1:21.897. Long runs were said to be the order of the day for both Mercedes and the Mercedes-powered Alpine team.

By mid-morning, a landmark in his Barcelona shakedown was reached, as the McLaren MCL40, driven by reigning World Champion Lando Norris, was spotted making its way out onto the track for the first time.

It was a debut sighting for Norris lapping with the number ‘1’ as the reigning World Champion.

McLaren were allegedly focusing on one to two-lap stints before diving back into the garage, while Russell continued adding up the laps in his Mercedes. Unofficial sources suggested that Mercedes were cranking up its new engine, one widely tipped to pack a punch in F1 2026.

As the morning reached its conclusion, Colapinto reportedly upped the benchmark pace to a 1:19.150 on softs. Russell led the lap count with 70+, while at the other end of the scale, Hulkenberg and Audi had mustered only five.

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