F1 2026 testing live: McLaren set to reveal new car in Barcelona
Follow live F1 action from the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with the first glimpse of the 2026 cars on the racetrack
The 2026 Formula 1 season is upon us and with just six weeks until the first race in Australia, the teams are now preparing for a campaign of unknowns.
New regulations this season mean it is a clean slate for all 11 teams, with Cadillac the first new team on the grid since Haas in 2016. Audi have also taken over Sauber, with Ford partnering with Red Bull to build their own engines.
McLaren won both world championships last year, with Lando Norris claiming his first drivers’ title. Yet this season, Mercedes are rumoured to be the frontrunners, though we won’t know anything until we see the cars out on track.
This week’s test behind-closed-doors in Barcelona is the first of three pre-season sessions for the teams, with official tests in Bahrain next month (11-13 February and 18-20 February). However, Williams won’t be present this week due to delays to their car.
Follow live updates from F1 pre-season testing with The Independent.
Day 3 begins
Arvid Lindblad, this year’s only rookie driver, takes to the track for Racing Bulls to begin the third day of testing.
We are expecting to see McLaren’s MCL40 car today and, with the sun shining in Barcelona, there should be more action on track than yesterday.
ANALYSIS: Why Ford are ‘climbing a mountain’ in hope of powering Max Verstappen to F1 glory after 22-year absence
By Kieran Jackson
Just 39 days since Lando Norris’s title triumph in Abu Dhabi, the Formula One wagon is slowly cranking back into gear. Yet this time, those changes of gear are clunky and unpredictable. 2026 marks a deep dive into the unknown: new regulations, new teams and, for most of the field, new dreams. Disregard the usual gossip and murmurs. The truth is that nobody really knows what to expect.
And so it was 4,000 miles from UK’s so-called “Motorsport Valley” in the Midlands and Oxfordshire, which hosts six of the now 11 teams, where the love-or-loathe F1 launch season began in piercing sub-zero conditions on Thursday night. The venue was Michigan Central Station in Detroit, with temperatures around -10C, as Red Bull took to the stage alongside one of America’s biggest car manufacturers.
Full piece below:
Why Ford are ‘climbing a mountain’ in hope of powering Max Verstappen to F1 glory
ANALYSIS: How Lewis Hamilton is making his mark at Ferrari: ‘This car has a clear direction’
By Kieran Jackson
Twelve months into his multi-year Ferrari contract, Lewis Hamilton’s re-emergence into the public domain on Friday did not carry the weight of giddiness and expectation of a year ago. In hindsight, perhaps the delirium of his debut season was a bit too much for all involved.
Yet 2026 is an open book – new regulations and potentially a new pecking order – and the first season in which Hamilton can fully stamp his imprint on a new-look car. Whether or not the boffins in Maranello have heeded the knowledge and experience of Hamilton’s 19 years in Formula 1, however, is another matter altogether.
Full piece below:
How Lewis Hamilton is making his mark at Ferrari: ‘This car has a clear direction’
Williams make shock call to miss first F1 2026 test after ‘delays’ in car development
Williams have withdrawn from the private F1 pre-season test in Barcelona following “delays” to their car development programme.
James Vowles’s outfit, who boast an impressive driver pairing in Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, have long targeted 2026 and this new set of regulations as a year to work their way up the pecking order.
Yet following reports that the team’s 2026 car, the FW48, had failed the FIA’s mandatory crash tests, the team confirmed on Friday that they will not be present at the shakedown event for all 11 teams.
F1 signs ‘incredible’ multi-year deal with Liverpool’s long-term sponsor
Formula 1 has signed a multi-year deal with Standard Chartered, the long-term shirt sponsor of Liverpool FC.
The new partnership will see the British multinational bank support the all-female racing series, F1 Academy, and provide “enhanced trackside activations for its clients and guests.”
More below:
F1 signs ‘incredible’ multi-year deal with Liverpool’s long-term sponsor
What are the timings in Barcelona?
The private ‘shakedown’ event for the teams will take place over five days, Monday-Friday, starting at 8am (GMT) and finishing at 5pm (GMT), with a one-hour lunch break at midday (GMT).
With eight hours of running a day, and teams able to run on a maximum of three days, teams could gather up to 24 hours of invaluable data for the season ahead.
Day 3 - testing
Welcome to day three of our live coverage of the first F1 pre-season test in Barcelona.
We’ve seen Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes - today it’s McLaren’s turn to reveal their first hand!
We’re expecting at least one of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on track today - and perhaps even both of them.
What can we expect tomorrow?
McLaren will feature tomorrow for the first time, even though the weather is set to be wet once again.
The question is: will any of the teams who sat out today opt for some wet running tomorrow?
Catch you tomorrow at 8am (GMT) for day three of the pre-season test in Barcelona!
DAY 2 TIMINGS
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 1:19:578 (27 laps)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 1:20:844 (66 laps)
- Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) - 1:31:891 (42 laps)
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 1:32:872 (57 laps)
Day 2 - Ferrari summary
In the end, Lewis Hamilton completed 56 laps, with a fastest time of 1:32:872.
Charles Leclerc, who recorded some dry running this morning before the rain came, posted 64 laps and a quickest time of 1:20:844.
That’s 120 laps in one day for Ferrari - I’d say a solid enough start to their testing programme!
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