Lando Norris - Barcelona - number 1 - McLaren

Photo: McLaren Mastercard F1 Team

McLaren drop pointed hint of MCL40's potential real livery for 2026 season

19:59, 02 Feb

byTobia Elia

McLaren unveiled its papaya-and-black team kit for the upcoming Formula 1 season.

The reigning world champions, fresh off back-to-back Constructors’ titles in 2024 and 2025, were among the few teams yet to unveil the official livery they would race with in 2026.

Both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris ran a full-black, stealth-style livery in Barcelona, a look that caught plenty of attention around the paddock but was never intended to be the definitive design that will feature on the MCL40 throughout the season.

The newly revealed team kit offered a few more clues as to what the final livery could look like, retaining the familiar papaya-and-black colour scheme, but introducing a black stripe that breaks up the shirt.

Piastri in the pits - Barcelona shakedown

Photo: McLaren

Norris casts verdict on McLaren's gap to Ferrari and Mercedes in Barcelona

The newly crowned world champion was unfazed by the gaps in lap times that emerged between teams during the Barcelona test.

Speaking after his final outing of the week, the Briton explained that the team’s priorities remained firmly centred on understanding the car’s reliability rather than chasing headline lap times.

“What we came here to do really is understand the car, especially from a reliability point of view, make sure that all the sensors are working as they should, the power units are working as they should, gearbox, whatever it is, everything just doing as we expect, because reliability is one of the most important things,” he said.

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