McLaren has officially kicked off preparations to defend their double world titles by unveiling the first render of the MCL40 in a provisional test livery. The full race car will not hit the track on the first day of pre-season testing in Barcelona, with the team opting to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday. One notable technical feature is the return to a push-rod front suspension.
The reigning champions are set to defend both the drivers’ and constructors’ titles. Just ahead of the Barcelona tests, McLaren shared the first render of the MCL40, featuring a black and silver provisional livery designed exclusively for testing purposes. The car’s official launch is scheduled for February 9.
The Woking-based team secured both championships last year, clinching the constructors’ title in Singapore, while Lando Norris sealed the drivers’ crown at the season finale in Abu Dhabi. The MCL40 render shows a simplified black-and-silver design, but it will not appear on track immediately. McLaren confirmed that the car will debut only on Tuesday or Wednesday, giving engineers maximum time to complete development.
Technical director Rob Marshall explained recently that McLaren is unlikely to introduce many new updates during the pre-season tests. Instead, the team intends to arrive in Barcelona with an already well-developed version of the MCL40, aiming to familiarise themselves with the “real” platform that will start the season. This contrasts with other teams, who prefer to bring a more basic car to the first test, primarily to validate fundamental design principles and power unit performance before introducing incremental upgrades throughout the testing period.
The render clearly shows a basic version of the car, distinguishable by the simplified floor, wing, and other areas, which are expected to be fully developed later. Some of these areas will be the focus of intensive development in the early months of the season.
One major change visible in the render is McLaren’s return to a push-rod front suspension. During the previous ground-effect car cycle, the team had exclusively used a pull-rod setup at the front. The rear push-rod suspension has been retained, consistent with other teams. Additionally, the sidepods feature a sharply sloped design that channels airflow along the car’s flanks, generating downwash before gradually tapering towards the floor.
“An enormous amount of work has gone into designing, manufacturing, and building the 2026 cars. As far as I can remember, this is almost unprecedented—not only because of the changes themselves, but because I don’t think there has ever been such a broad and simultaneous modification of chassis, power unit, and tires,” explained Andrea Stella.
He continued, “The sheer volume of redesign over the past 20 months makes this, in my view, probably the largest new car development project I’ve ever participated in at McLaren. All of this makes it extremely exciting to see how the cars will perform and how the competitive order might be reshuffled. We are champions, but we are not bringing our 2025 championship status into 2026.”
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