McLaren has become the first team to announce concrete details ahead of the first official test of the 2026 Formula 1 season. Earlier today, the team led by Andrea Stella shared two important updates ahead of next week, when the opening three-day test session at Sakhir will get underway.
The Woking-based outfit has confirmed how its drivers will be split across the first three days on track in Bahrain, scheduled from 11 to 13 February.
The opening day will be entirely dedicated to Oscar Piastri. The Australian driver will have a full day at his disposal to continue understanding and fine-tuning the MCL40, following the first three days of running completed at the end of January during the Barcelona shakedown.
On the middle day, Thursday 12 February, it will be Lando Norris who will have the entire day available. The reigning world champion will build on the work carried out by Piastri the previous day, and it is possible that McLaren could introduce its first updates after having run the “base” version of the car at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The third and final day of Bahrain Test 1 will see both McLaren race drivers in action. Lando Norris will take to the track in the morning, while Oscar Piastri will complete the programme during the afternoon of Friday 13 February.
McLaren also provided another important piece of information. On Tuesday 10 February, the team will carry out its first filming day of the season, completing 200 kilometres (out of the 400 allowed by the regulations) for commercial filming purposes, and it will do so at Sakhir. This will be an important opportunity for several reasons.
The first, and least significant, is linked to filming with the livery that will be unveiled at 16:00 Italian time on 9 February, the day before. The MCL40 will no longer be dressed in black, but will run in its final race colours.
The second point concerns the use of the two drivers. Lando Norris will drive in the morning, while Oscar Piastri will take over in the afternoon. They will run on “demo” tyres supplied by Pirelli, as required by the sporting regulations, but they will still have the opportunity to check that all systems are functioning correctly ahead of the first proper test day scheduled for the following day, as well as to carry out some initial set-up work.
McLaren also confirmed that the driver programme for the second Bahrain test, scheduled from 18 to 20 February, will be announced at a later date, most likely at the conclusion of Test 1.
| Morning | Afternoon | |
|---|---|---|
| Filming day | Norris | Piastri |
| Test | Norris | Piastri |
| Day 1 | Piastri | Piastri |
| Day 2 | Norris | Norris |
| Day 3 | Norris | Piastri |
McLaren’s early transparency regarding their testing program suggests a team that is confident in its preparation. By giving both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri dedicated full days to focus on the MCL40’s nuances, the Woking squad is maximizing their chances of entering the new era with a deep understanding of their machinery.
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