McLaren MCL40 revealed with Papaya orange for the 2026 F1 season in Bahrain

McLaren Racing has unveiled the livery for its 2026 Formula 1 challenger, the MCL40, retaining the papaya colour scheme that accompanied its title-winning 2025 campaign.

The reveal, streamed from Bahrain and led by CEO Zak Brown and Team Principal Andrea Stella, featured drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri alongside senior team members. McLaren said it is continuing its long-standing tradition of carrying a Championship-winning livery into the following season. The 2026 design combines the iconic papaya with anthracite and subtle teal accents.

The colour theme also extends to the drivers’ race suits, with both Norris and Piastri set to wear overalls featuring a papaya front and anthracite rear, with their numbers, 1 and 81, highlighted in team colours.

Built for the new era run

The MCL40 has already completed a run at the Barcelona Pre-Season Shakedown and has been developed in line with Formula 1’s new 2026 regulations, which required teams to design entirely new cars.

The car is scheduled to return to the track for a promotional filming day on Tuesday, Feb. 10, ahead of the first official Bahrain pre-season test beginning Wednesday, Feb. 11.

Focus on performance

Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, said, “We’re delighted to present our 2026 challenger’s livery from our second home, Bahrain. The iconic papaya continues on the MCL40 as we keep our tradition of carrying Championship-winning liveries through to the next season. Racing performance is also at the forefront of design when exploring creative routes, and we’ve balanced creative direction with aero considerations to create this striking 2026 competitor.

Team Principal Andrea Stella underlined the scale of the challenge ahead, saying, “2026 marks a new challenge as we take on a new era of Formula 1 regulations. We also go into the season as an independent challenger facing five top manufacturers who all want to beat us. 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." Stella added that the team aims to “hit the ground running" despite the reset under the new rules.

Drivers ready for title defence

Lando Norris said, “To win the Championship with the team I've been with since the beginning was incredible. We're coming into this year as World Champions, and I'm excited to see what we can achieve in this new era of Formula 1."

Oscar Piastri added, “We’ve got a big challenge ahead with the new regulations, but I come into this year with a lot of positivity and ready to tackle this new era of Formula 1 head on."

As reigning Constructors’ and Drivers’ World Champions, McLaren heads into 2026 with momentum. However, with sweeping regulation changes effectively resetting the competitive order, the MCL40’s true pace will only become clear once pre-season testing gets underway in Bahrain.

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