The vehicle presented at Barcelona’s pre-season testing will not be identical to the one competing in Australia’s race, a sentiment expected to apply universally, due to the early stage of development.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu recently expressed conviction that every Formula 1 car would undergo considerable development before the Australian Grand Prix, a perspective not shared by McLaren.
McLaren’s MCL40 will not have its formal unveiling until February 9th, which is considerably after its initial track debut during the Barcelona pre-season tests. With the initial on-track activities scheduled from January 26th to 30th, allowing three days for each team, McLaren intends to skip at least the first day.
Despite McLaren’s stance, a leading team, previously securing titles, recently conducted a media briefing to discuss their latest racing car and the comprehensive changes to chassis and engine design introduced by the 2026 technical regulations. The technical management of this team articulated their primary objective to be gaining a thorough comprehension of their new design during pre-season testing and the initial grand prix, instead of hastily introducing modifications. Nonetheless, they also plan to attentively observe their rivals’ progress.
Chief designer Rob Marshall conveyed that the vehicle observed between the Barcelona testing and the Melbourne race will largely represent what they introduce for the opening competition, stating that a significant portion of their efforts would be dedicated to comprehending its intricacies.
He further added that they must also consider their adversaries’ activities and draw inspiration from their potential accomplishments or what they choose to reveal.
Jonathan Wheatley, Team Manager, Red Bull Racing, Rob Marshall, Chief Designer, McLaren F1 Team, David Coulthard, Presenter
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Marshall emphasized the imperative to intensely concentrate on fully grasping this new car, describing it as highly complex and entirely novel, with numerous aspects requiring careful adjustment and fine-tuning.
Consequently, he believed that introducing a multitude of new components prematurely would only create complications, suggesting it would be more advantageous to understand their existing foundation before becoming overly eager to redesign it prior to it even completing a single lap.
Furthermore, the team based in Woking faces some apprehension regarding whether the hitherto effective alignment between their simulator data and actual track performance will persist under the fresh regulatory framework.
Mark Temple, the technical director overseeing performance, remarked that regarding the direct translation of aerodynamic configurations from their digital tools to real-world track results, they naturally harbored hopes for success.
However, he noted that certain elements of the updated regulations render aerodynamics more intricate, making them—he hesitated to say ‘unpredictable’—but certainly more challenging to forecast accurately on the circuit.
He explained that this challenge partly stems from being in the nascent stages of the regulation cycle, thus, until they actually race and can identify discrepancies between tool predictions and observed track behavior, full confidence remains elusive.
Nevertheless, he concluded, a significant component of the Formula 1 methodology, and a key reason for their collective anticipation to hit the track, is the eventual opportunity to pinpoint these discrepancies, establish clarity concerning current “known unknowns,” and subsequently determine how to integrate this insight into their ongoing development and operational procedures.
