Preparations for Formula 1’s new era have ramped up after the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team successfully fired up the new 2026 challenger for the first time.

Team Principal Andrea Stella watched on as the team brought our new car to life at McLaren HQ in Woking, marking a key milestone ahead of the first Pre-Season Test in Barcelona, Spain next week on Monday, 26 January.

You're going to want your volume turned up for this 🔊🆙 pic.twitter.com/T31PAxIQsy

— McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team 🧡 (@McLarenF1) January 19, 2026

Fire-up represents a key step on the road to any new season, especially as F1 embarks on a massive overhaul of its regulations for 2026. It is the first occasion the power unit (PU) is activated while installed in the chassis, after which a series of checks are carried out to verify system performance and confirm there are no issues or leaks.

Team members from McLaren and Mercedes-AMG High Performance Power Trains came together to fire up our 2026 car, confirming that the build programme is progressing as planned after months of cross-departmental collaboration.

Our new car follows on from 2025’s World Championship winner, the MCL39, which was driven to a Constructors’ and Drivers’ double last year. Fans will be able to tune in to the official 2026 McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team Launch online on Monday, 9 February at 15:00 GMT (10:00 EST/01:00 AEST), broadcast from the Bahrain International Circuit. Zak Brown, Andrea Stella, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will all speak as we reveal the livery for our 2026 challenger.