McLaren is the 11th and final team to confirm its launch date for the F1 2026 season.
The car, which has not yet been officially named, will be revealed in Bahrain on February 9th.
McLaren announces launch date for F1 2026
McLaren has confirmed when it will unveil its car for the F1 2026 season as it prepares to defend the titles it claimed last year.
The Woking-based outfit is the final team on the grid to announce details of its launch plans for the 2026 campaign, although is yet to formally confirm the name of the chassis.
Based on the existing nomenclature, the chassis is likely to be named the MCL40, but the team has shown a willingness to mix it up in recent years, such as with the MCL60 in 2023.
McLaren confirmed on Friday evening that its new challenger will be presented on Monday, February 9th, at the Bahrain International Circuit, shortly before the first of two three-day pre-season tests at the venue.
The confirmation came on the same day that the first 2026 car took to the track for the first time, with the newly-renamed Audi (formerly Sauber) heading to Barcelona for a closed-door filming day.
Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat Holding Company, owns 100 percent of the McLaren Group, which includes the McLaren Racing company, which houses the F1 team.
McLaren’s confirmed launch date coincides with the launch of the first Adrian Newey-penned Aston Martin.
Alpine
23 January 2026
Aston Martin
9 February 2026
Audi
20 January 2026
Cadillac
8 February 2026
Ferrari
23 January 2026
Haas
19 January 2026
McLaren
9 February 2026
Mercedes
22 January 2026
Racing Bulls
15 January 2026
Red Bull
15 January 2026
Williams
3 February 2026
More on F1 2026’s pre-season
F1 2026 cars: What name has each team given its chassis for the 2026 season?
F1 2026: Confirmed car launches and test days for huge regulation changes
McLaren heads into the new season as the reigning constructors’ champion for a second consecutive year, having secured titles in both 2024 and 2025 under different circumstances.
In 2024, the team edged Ferrari by a slender 14-point margin in a closely fought championship battle. Last season, however, McLaren was in a class of its own, dominating the field and finishing a commanding 364 points clear of Mercedes, its nearest rival.
The team also celebrated a landmark achievement in the Drivers’ Championship, with Lando Norris claiming his first world title and McLaren’s first since Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
Norris sealed the title in dramatic fashion, beating Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by just two points after a tense season finale.
Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri, who led the championship for much of the year, ultimately finished third, 13 points adrift of the British driver.
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