After winning the Constructors' Championship in the 2024 and 2025 F1 seasons, and Lando Norris' first Drivers' Championship last year, all eyes are on how the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team's MCL40, its 2026 challenger, holds up.
The car has been revealed in all its papaya glory today during a Bahrain-based launch that featured CEO Zak Brown, Team Principal Andrea Stella, drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, Chief Marketing Officer Lou McEwen, and Chief Designer Rob Marshall.
Historically, when winning a Championship, McLaren has carried the successful livery through to the following season. Even with sweeping regulation changes and new-look cars, that tradition continues in 2026, meaning this design will be instantly familiar to you.
The biggest change is, of course, the fact that Norris' car now has the "1" in place of "4," a number he earned by becoming Champion.
"We’re delighted to present our 2026 challenger’s livery from our second home, Bahrain," Brown said. "The iconic papaya continues on the MCL40 as we keep our tradition of carrying Championship-winning liveries through to the next season. Racing performance is also at the forefront of design when exploring creative routes, and we’ve balanced creative direction with aero considerations to create this striking 2026 competitor."
Stella added, "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."
He's not wrong, as the opportunity is there for any team to fight for podiums and Championship glory in 2026. While McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull are still expected to be at the front of the grid, it's anyone's guess when it comes to which of them will dominate.
Norris, who seeks to defend his Drivers' Championship, said, "It's good to be back in Bahrain to reveal the livery for this season. The design looks great and I'm excited to continue racing in the colours which were part of our huge success last year."
"To win the Championship with the team I've been with since the beginning was incredible," he continued. "We're coming into this year as World Champions and I'm excited to see what we can achieve in this new era of Formula 1."
Take a closer look at the MCL40 in the Instagram posts below.