MCLAREN MISSES DAY 1 OF TESTING IN BARCELONA – SCHEDULE AND 2026 CAR UPDATES
As we are approaching the first few days of private testings in Barcelona, new details, run plans and teams’ schedules are coming out.
One team who’s confirmed to miss the first day of on-track testing is Mclaren, who also gave us a hint on their approach for the upcoming season, regarding both schedules and the brand new MCL40.
McLaren has confirmed it won’t be chasing major upgrades in the short window between Formula 1 pre-season testing and the opening round of the 2026 season in Australia, going against the approach several rivals have chosen.
With the sport entering a brand-new regulations era, the early phase is expected to be a steep learning curve for every team. Many of them have already hinted that they will start with a relatively simple 2026 concept and then introduce rapid development steps before the first race.
Ferrari, for instance, has spoken openly about running a “spec A” version of its car during the first test, to uunderstand the new engines deeper and better, also testing reliability, before making significant changes ahead of the season opener.
McLaren, however, is planning a different strategy.
Rather than committing to big revisions immediately, the team wants to hold off on major updates to its MCL40 until it has a clearer picture of how the 2026 cars behave and which areas offer the biggest performance opportunities.
This approach also gives McLaren extra time to observe what solutions competitors bring to the table, while avoiding unnecessary spending under the cost cap on parts that could quickly become useless.
Speaking to The Race at the McLaren Technology Centre, chief designer Rob Marshall explained that any development introduced between next week’s Barcelona test and the first race in March would be limited.
“Between Barcelona and Melbourne, I think what you see is probably pretty much what we’ll bring to the first race,” he said.
“A lot of our focus will be on understanding this. And we also have to consider what the opposition are doing — we need to take inspiration from what they may or may not manage, and what they may or may not reveal.”
Marshall added that without a solid understanding of how the 2026 cars truly operate, it would be risky for teams to commit too early to aggressive redesigns.
With only a few days left before action officially begins, it already looks like we are going to see one of the craziest seasons ever, both on track and off.
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