The McLaren Formula 1 racing team has revealed their livery for the upcoming 2026 season with an increase sponsorship with Mastercard.
The drivers’ and constructors’ champions presented their MCL60 at the Bahrain International Circuit, which will be the track for the pre-season test.
There’s an increase in the papaya orange for the MCL60 as well as branding from the lead partner Mastercard.
The main sponsor has an increased presence after upgrading its deal with the team to a title sponsorship, McLaren’s first such deal since the Vodafone days over a decade ago.
New Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris will race in car number one and is out to defend his title this season. Oscar Piastri is determined to beat his teammate after missing out on the big prize last year.
“It’s fantastic to reveal the livery for our 2026 challenger, the MCL40, as we reach an important milestone in our team’s incredible work and dedication before we begin racing this year,” team principal Andrea Stella said.
“While we have the benefit of the lessons learned from our success in the past few years, the whole grid is restarting from zero and our past achievements count for nothing. Our objective is to hit the ground running, and we have the best combination of team, driver pairing, collaboration with Mercedes HPP, partners, and fans to be able to do this.”
Social media:
https://x.com/McLarenF1/status/2020880596856135904
https://x.com/McLarenF1/status/2020878163203518559
https://x.com/McLarenF1/status/2020884015956603098
Official website:
https://www.mclaren.com/racing/formula-1/2026/mclaren-racing-reveal-livery-for-the-mclaren-mastercard-formula-1-teams-2026-challenger/
News stories:
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/first-look-mclaren-unveil-new-livery-for-2026-season.2kEsCDmaFP6o3GJlAe7jBZ
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/gallery-take-a-look-at-every-angle-of-mclarens-2026-livery.7z5YtdHeuCJaX2XMxLWgMR
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mclaren-officially-unveils-papaya-livery-for-2026-f1-car/10796219/
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/compression-ratio-saga-typical-politics-of-f1-says-mclarens-zak-brown/10796226/
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/mclaren-f1-2026-livery-mcl40-revealed/
https://www.skysports.com/f1/video/30998/13505360/f1-mclaren-reveal-championship-defending-mcl40-as-norris-showcases-new-number-1
https://www.racefans.net/2026/02/09/first-pictures-mclaren-reveals-its-new-mcl40-in-its-definitive-livery/
Zak Brown believes that the early signs indicate McLaren will be “competitive” in 2026, with the CEO also expecting that there could be some “fascinating” effects from this season’s new technical regulations.
While the papaya squad arrive into the campaign as the reigning champions in both titles – marking back-to-back Teams’ crowns following their 2024 triumph – the pecking order remains uncertain given the introduction of a rules reset.
However, following the Barcelona Shakedown, Brown feels that the team look in good shape for the season ahead – though cautioned that it is still too soon to predict what could happen.
“I think it’s very early days – very risky to judge [the Barcelona Shakedown],” Brown explained in a media session amid McLaren’s season launch on Monday.
“What I would say is we feel like we’ll be competitive. The top four teams all seemed very competitive, so very early days but the indication’s that we’ll be strong.
“But I think it would be premature to make any predictions beyond an initial few days of testing. Obviously things will start to become a little bit clearer over the next two weeks.”
Pushed for his thoughts on the driving aspect of the new cars following the regulation changes – with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri having both gained their first mileage of the 2026 challenger in Barcelona – Brown responded: “I think the drivers like to drive the cars.
“Understanding the energy deployment and how to maximise a lap, I think it’s starting to become clear to the drivers how they’re going to race.
“I think until we get into racing conditions we ultimately won’t know, so I think, given that two weeks ago was a shakedown and get going, we need some more days under our belt to really understand how these cars are going to race best.
“As Lando said, it could get quite exciting because I do think you can get it right or you can get it wrong, and I think the consequences of getting it wrong, you could potentially be freight-trained if you run out of deployment in certain parts of the track, so it could be fascinating. We need to wait and see.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/the-indication-is-well-be-strong-brown-confident-mclaren-will-be-competitive.7mqm43Fbo9wNzCXGi1mp9e