This forum contains threads to discuss teams themselves. Anything not technical about the cars, including restructuring, performances etc belongs here.
Yeah i suspect it is. Like i mentioned a few pages back, i expect the team will minimise how much tunnel and modelling resource they will use and utilise on track testing more.
Like last year when we saw parts validated many weeks before running.
On a different note, rumors abound that Hamilton's new engineer at Ferrari will be someone from McLaren. Presumably someone who left a while ago and served out his gardening leave. Any guesses on who this might be?
Rob Marshall said that “between Barcelona and Melbourne, I think what you see is probably pretty much what we'll bring to the first race,” stressing that their focus is on understanding the new MCL40 rather than rushing upgrades.
He added that bringing lots of new parts early would only complicate things and that they want to fully understand the platform before redesigning it once it has actually run on track
Which is of course very sensible, but I do wonder if this is partly driven by being at the thin end of the RRA. When you have less, you have to be wise how you spend
That’s the main driver… Been WCC in an era where been 1st handicaps you and just before a regulation change is the biggest handicap one can have in today’s F1… Using a percentage of your allocation to “try different ideas” is a luxury they can’t afford.
In addition, we all know how much performance can be unlocked once you understand the platform… a rapid introduction of upgrade changes could send you down a rabbit hole where you don’t really know what’s working and what isn’t… Worst thing that can happen to the team is a repeat of the MCL33 where they were lacking performance, just didn’t know why.
Championships won’t be won in the first 10 races of a new set of regulations
I read the latest news. So, in Barcelona there will be no TV presenters, journalists, or photographers. There will be no live broadcasts, no information about who is using which tires, no live timings, and nothing else.
In the first three-day series in Bahrain, everything will return, including times, tires, and more. We'll see official photos from the tests, read commentary from journalists, and also watch the final hour of F1TV at the end of each day.
And only in the second three-day series will we see everything in full. What a shame. Regarding the teams' reluctance to show their failures to the world, it doesn't look so good. What difference does it make? These are tests, after all, and that's what they're for. I don't think it's a matter of reliability.
The main issue is whether overtaking will be too easy. And how can this be sold to the audience? Therefore, I'm inclined to believe that, at the request of the FOM and the FIA, teams may be asked to test the real overtaking situation on track during the first tests. Later on in the season, or even before the Australian Grand Prix, the rules regarding electrical energy output may be adjusted slightly. I may be wrong.
Regarding when McLaren will start testing: are some people already panicking? And some seem to be expecting the team to fail? Apparently they've overlooked the past three years and haven't seen how quickly the orange team can catch up with their rivals, even in the first half of the season. Testing hasn't even started yet. Even I'm curious how many teams will be on track tomorrow.
There's no panic within the team. And that's good. Rob Marshall said they've been working on the car since the summer of 2024. It's a long road. So, I'm inclined to believe the team wants to come to testing with the car as prepared as possible, so they can work with it during the first races of the season and learn as much as possible. They'll figure out where to develop, what shortcomings to address, what to look for in other teams. Sometimes, mid-tier teams come up with interesting solutions that the top teams then copy.
It's logical to expect large gaps between teams in the 2026 season. This almost always happens when regulations change. But we won't see these gaps during testing. But in the first races of the season, it will be very clear.
Rob Marshall on the launch MCL40: "I think what you see is probably pretty much what we'll bring to the first race. A lot of our effort will be going into understanding this. Also we need to take into account what the opposition are up to. We need to be inspired by what they may or may not achieve, and may or may or may not show us. We really are going to have to be very focused on getting our heads around these cars. It's very complicated. It's all new. There's a lot of stuff that we need to dial in and tune in, so I think bringing a lot of new stuff to it early doors would complicate things, and I think we're better off understanding our platform before we get too keen on redesigning it before it's turned a wheel."
Hahaha, is only camo livery mandatory for Barcelona. But in comparison with pre 2025 season, with sponsors. They probably paid a lot of money for this.
However I am not fully convinced that this is what McLaren will bring to Barcelona. Digital editing these days is another level. And is clear also from the pics that we have some photo with number 1 on the car, others with 81 (on the shark fin area). And don't tell me that they had two cars or used time to change stickers. Is edited.
What I like instead, are the wheels rims. Looks million times better than 2025 or 2024 version (I hope they will keep this version for full livery release).
Last edited by SilviuAgo on 26 Jan 2026, 11:37, edited 3 times in total.
Rob Marshall on the launch MCL40: "I think what you see is probably pretty much what we'll bring to the first race. A lot of our effort will be going into understanding this. Also we need to take into account what the opposition are up to. We need to be inspired by what they may or may not achieve, and may or may or may not show us. We really are going to have to be very focused on getting our heads around these cars. It's very complicated. It's all new. There's a lot of stuff that we need to dial in and tune in, so I think bringing a lot of new stuff to it early doors would complicate things, and I think we're better off understanding our platform before we get too keen on redesigning it before it's turned a wheel."
This is a quote from 4 days ago that The Race already released (it was from a short interview Rob Marshall gave which I believe is somewhere in this thread as well). I don't know why it was paired with the release of this render.
