#mcl40

inspector lando in the garage with naylor, liam and the rest of his crew 🕵️‍♂️

IF HE DOESN'T START IN JAPAN I'LL FLY OVER THERE MYSELF AND FIX THE GODDAMN CAR WITH MY OWN TWO HANDS AND YOUTUBE

(Yarndo will be sporting a temporary solution to his number change until the new race suits are officially revealed)

On the third day of the shakedown test for the 2026 cars, McLaren rolled out their MCL40 for the first time, sporting a slick "stealth mode" livery, as the season livery will not be revealed until Feb. 9. Lando drove the car in both sessions of the day, debuting the number 1 on the car and his suit as the reigning world champion.

Lando completed 77 laps for 358.589 km for the day. His best lap time was 1:18.307, placing him third fastest for the day (+0.727s).

Of course, lap times are probably among the least important data points being gathered during these tests. The really important data are the things the rest of us don't get to know about. For example, some pictures showed flo-viz on the rear wing at a certain point during the day, indicating that they were doing some aero assessments on that component. Primary goals of a shakedown include ensuring that the car runs reliably and predictably. For McLaren, who use Mercedes power units (and other teams that don't manufacture their own engines), this includes making sure that the PU is properly integrated with the car, which is an important, and sometimes tricky, thing to achieve.

Despite these tests being closed to the public and media, teams and the official Formula 1 media team have been releasing a fair amount of images, video, and information about the tests. Independent media have also managed some coverage using long lenses and some creativity.

The team report that running went well, and they are where they want to be with this testing. Lando sounded quite positive about the car at the end of the day, remarking that the car felt "powerful" and "like a McLaren."