McLaren 2026 F1 launch: Catch up here

The McLaren Formula 1 team unveiled its 2026 livery on Monday 9 February.

The Woking outfit hosted an event in Bahrain, two days before pre-season testing takes place at Bahrain International Circuit from 11-13 February, and again 18-20 February.

Here is everything you need to know to catch on the McLaren F1 launch.

Catch up on the McLaren 2026 F1 launch event

When was the McLaren 2026 F1 launch event?

Monday 9 February 2026

Local time: 18:00 (Bahrain)
GMT: 15:00
CET: 16:00
PST: 07:00
EST: 10:00
JST: 00:00 (Tuesday 10 February)
CST (China): 23:00

Who was at the McLaren 2026 F1 launch event?

Drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were joined by McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown and team principal Andrea Stella at the launch event in Bahrain.

McLaren Barcelona shakedown

McLaren, along with all of the other teams bar Williams, took part in private testing in Barcelona from 26-30 January. Here is what Norris and Piastri had to say after the third and final day of the shakedown.

Lando Norris

“Today was a valuable day of learning, and it felt great to be back in the car. I’m grateful to the entire team for their hard work and support. It’s a pleasure to drive another McLaren this year, and running the No.1 for the first time was a special moment for all of us throughout the Shakedown.  

“We’ve identified opportunities and areas to improve, and we’re excited to see what we can do back in Woking as we prepare for Bahrain. We have plenty of additional things to learn this week in the simulator, alongside our Simulator and Development Drivers, and I'm looking forward to getting to work on those. These cars definitely require a new way of thinking and driving and the more time spent working on those, the better prepared we will be for the start of the season.

“Thanks to everybody involved for making it a strong day of running to wrap up the week. Time now for a few days off before getting right back into it at the start of next week, before we get back in the car in Bahrain. I can’t wait to get going again next time.” 

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto / Getty Images

Oscar Piastri

“Today was a much smoother day than our first two. It was good to get a solid number of laps on the board and settle into a rhythm. I’m starting to feel what the car is really like, and we’ve already tried a variety of configurations and settings to understand how it behaves for a race weekend. Overall, the priority this week has been clear: understand the car and improve it. 

“There’s still plenty to learn, especially on the power unit side. Together with HPP, we’re working to deepen our understanding to extract the most performance. The feedback from both me and Lando is proving valuable. We’ve also identified some differences from last year across the chassis with the car carrying more downforce, so getting used to that balance has been a key focus.

“Looking ahead to Bahrain, we feel well prepared. There haven’t been many major surprises in how I need to drive and ensuring everything works as expected remains the biggest focus. We’ll review what matched our expectations, what didn’t, and anything interesting we’ve uncovered so far.

“Overall, it’s been a successful step in the right direction to start the year off, so thanks to all of the team for working hard to prepare the car and make it happen.”