Neil Houldey spoke with Formula1.com following the F1 2026 shakedown in Barcelona for McLaren. The team’s Technical Director of Engineering provided several insights on their week at the track. The three days in Barcelona marked a significant milestone in the car project that has been in development since 2024. Houldey on initial testing and operational…
Lando Norris 2026 Barcelona F1 shakedown running began later than most his rivals, with McLaren arriving late to the five-day event by design. The reigning champions waited until the final three days to put the MCL40 on track, prioritising full assembly and system validation over early visibility. By Friday evening, the Woking team had completed…
The fourth day of the 2026 F1 testing in Barcelona has finished, and George Russell has finished on top of the pack. Full (unofficial) results are below. Mercedes looking reliable again Haas, Alpine, Audi and Red Bull were not testing, just as Williams, who elected to skip the entire week. Of the teams testing today,…
2025 F1 world champion, Lando Norris, took over the honour from Max Verstappen to drive with the car boasting the number 1 at Barcelona shakedown. The McLaren driver with number one, hit the track at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Wednesday, with Norris completing 77 laps across a full systems shakedown. Norris admitted it still…
Chief designer Rob Marshall shared his thoughts on McLaren hitting the track for the first time with their 2026 car, how innovative the MCL40 is, and their run plan for the remainder of the F1 shakedown as the third day of the private event in Barcelona came to a close. McLaren initially dedicated their time…
While McLaren have unveiled the renders of the MCL40 in a testing livery, Red Bull have published the first images of their real 2026 F1 car ahead of the behind-closed-doors Barcelona shakedown. As F1 undergoes a major regulations reset in 2026, ten teams, apart from Williams, are utilising a shakedown event prior to the two…
With the start of the season in Melbourne quickly approaching, the teams are revealing their 2026 challengers in quick succession. Missed one? Fear not, we have listed the 2026 F1 cars in a neat little livery launch overview below. Red Bull Racing RB22 Red Bull Racing was the first team to reveal their 2026 challenger….
The first official pre-season tests for the 2026 F1 season begin tomorrow after some shakedowns earlier this month, as most of the teams and cars head to Barcelona for the first of three testing periods ahead of the start of the championship. Seven 2026 F1 cars have hit the track for shakedowns or filming days…
As the Formula 1 teams start to gradually reveal pieces of their 2026 challengers, from liveries to aero packages, it’s timely to revisit one of the strangest pre-season testing occurrences in F1 history. Coming into the 2015 F1 season, Lewis Hamilton was a defending two-time world champion with Mercedes whilst his former McLaren teammate Alonso…
McLaren successfully secured over $12 million in damages after taking legal action against four-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou, who previously served as the team’s F1 reserve driver; CEO Zak Brown hailed the outcome as “entirely appropriate,” while Palou expressed disappointment over the court’s decision. The compensation covers a range of commercial and contractual impacts stemming…
