McLaren reveal 2026 livery as testing prep ramps up
9th February 2026McLaren Racing have revealed its 2026 livery as the sport ramps up for another bout of pre-season tests this week.
Feature image credit: McLaren Racing
The defending world champions, who go into 2026 after back-to-back title wins and their most recent driver’s title, became the 10th team to reveal their livery for the upcoming campaign.
McLaren’s reveal was hosted in Bahrain as part of a live team launch, which followed their recent pre-season testing livery that made its debut in Barcelona in January.
The all-new car for 2026 still maintains its papaya-black colour scheme that is more recognisable of recent seasons, with the demonstration also showcasing the team driver numbers. Oscar Piastri’s #81 occupied the back and the champion’s #1 on the nose, courtesy of Lando Norris, who dethroned Red Bull’s Max Verstappen last season to claim his first world title.
McLaren revealed the car with Team Principal, Andrea Stella, CEO Zak Brown and both of the team drivers, Piastri and Norris in attendance, with Chief Designer Rob Marshall explaining the technical elements of their car.
The design of the reigning Champions! 🤩
McLaren unveil the livery for their 2026 challenger, the MCL40 🎨#F1 pic.twitter.com/fIoKjiGekH
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 9, 2026
“It’s fantastic to reveal the livery for our 2026 challenger, the MCL40, as we reach an important milestone in our team’s incredible work and dedication before we begin racing this year,” said McLaren team principal, Andrea Stella.
“2026 marks a new challenge as we take on a new era of Formula 1 regulations. We also go into the season as an independent challenger facing five top manufacturers who all want to beat us.
“While we have the benefit of the lessons learned from our success in the past few years, the whole grid is restarting from zero and our past achievements count for nothing.”
Aston Martin stands as the final team of the 11 constructors to reveal their livery, which will get underway in the evening of February 9.
Pre-Season Testing gets back underway this week with two weeks of three-day tests in Bahrain before the sport travels south-east towards Australia for the opening round of the season, in March.
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Cadillac reveals contrasting livery ahead of F1 season
- Williams F1 reveal 2026 livery
- McLaren reveals shakedown livery as testing gets underway
- Williams F1 confirm delays forcing to miss shakedown
- Alpine showcase 2026 contender on ship ahead of F1 season
- Ferrari reveal striking red and white livery ahead of F1 2026
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
