Oscar Piastri takes stock after three days of testing in Barcelona. The focus has been on extensive aerodynamic work and understanding the power unit, including the energy delivered by the KERS. Some aspects, however, will need to be revised before the next tests.
To see the McLaren MCL40 in action, we had to wait until the third of the five Shakedown days in Barcelona, because the future papaya — entirely black for the tests — had a longer gestation period than some of the other cars that were ready earlier.
The wait was rewarded with numerous conceptual solutions from the car that will have to defend the two world titles McLaren won in 2025. The MCL40 is far from conservative. On the contrary, it is meticulously designed down to the smallest detail — a promising way to start the season.
As expected, the team led by Andrea Stella began familiarizing themselves with new features such as active aerodynamics and the new 350 kW MGU-K, along with the larger Pirelli tires and the revised aerodynamics that behave differently from the ground-effect cars of the past.
Among the two Woking drivers, Oscar Piastri was perhaps the most open when discussing his first impressions of the MCL40 on track.
“I feel like I found a good rhythm and was able to start understanding what the car is really like, which was nice. We’ve already tested some things to see how we can improve it and similar stuff. But yes, we’re just experimenting, you know, running it in different configurations and settings to understand how it behaves ahead of a race weekend. Overall, I think it was a pretty positive morning.”
One of the main areas of focus is gaining as deep an understanding as possible of the new power unit. This involves not only the behavior of the V6 — which stems from the engine architecture used until the end of 2025 — but also the KERS, which will operate without the MGU-H and provide the extra energy boost to the thermal unit.
“There’s definitely still a lot to learn, especially regarding the power unit. You know, figuring out how to use it to the maximum and how to go as fast as possible, basically. So there’s still plenty to learn from that perspective. But I think we’ve started to identify some issues, some limitations, and some things that are simply different compared to last year, both for the power unit and the car.”
“Because obviously the car itself has significantly less downforce than what we had last year. So getting used to that and the resulting feel has been the main thing we’ve started working on.”
Regarding whether Barcelona met expectations, Piastri expressed satisfaction. It is clear, however, that several elements will need evaluation and some will need to be revised to make the MCL40 better in time for the Sakhir tests.
“We prepared well to run in Barcelona. We didn’t encounter major surprises regarding driving or the operation of the power unit and similar aspects. I think it was important to ensure everything functioned as expected, and I believe the team was able to do a lot of preparation throughout this week in anticipation of the next tests.”
“I’m sure there will be things we’ll need to review that worked as we expected. Others didn’t. And some we’ll really need to change.”
Oscar Piastri’s balanced assessment of the McLaren MCL40 highlights the steep learning curve teams face with the 2026 regulations, particularly in managing the transition to lower downforce and more complex electrical energy deployment. While the initial shakedown in Barcelona confirmed that the car’s fundamental systems are working as intended, Piastri’s admission that certain elements “definitely need to change” signals that McLaren is already moving into a high-intensity optimization phase to defend its championship status. The team’s ability to refine the interaction between the new 350 kW MGU-K and the revised aerodynamic package before the Bahrain tests will determine if the MCL40 can maintain the winning momentum established by its predecessor.
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