Over the last three days of the Barcelona shakedown, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri put in their first laps behind the wheel of McLaren’s 2026 F1 car. McLaren had skipped the opening two days of running at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, but Norris finally took the MCL40 out on Wednesday.
Over the last three days of the Barcelona shakedown, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri put in their first laps behind the wheel of McLaren’s 2026 F1 car.
McLaren had skipped the opening two days of running at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, but Norris finally took the MCL40 out on Wednesday. Piastri then got his turn on Thursday, with both drivers splitting track time again on Friday to wrap up the week.
Piastri’s Thursday session was cut short by a fuel system issue, though he and Norris still managed a decent number of laps across Friday. With this being the first test under the new regulations, McLaren focused more on gathering mileage than chasing fast lap times.
‘Exciting’ turning vanes found underneath the nose of McLaren’s 2026 F1 car
McLaren rolled out their 2026 car in Barcelona, and all eyes were on the bargeboards. The team had only shown off a basic render earlier alongside their black test livery, with plans to unveil the final look on February 9.
Beyond the obvious changes, former Jordan F1 technical director Gary Anderson pointed out something intriguing under the nose cone. He noticed a set of turning vanes that could have other teams taking notice soon.
Speaking to The Race, Anderson explained: “It is under the nose where it all gets a bit more exciting and different. McLaren have these vanes coming down from that surface. I will christen them ‘snowplough’ vanes. All of them look like they have a slightly different profile.”
“If they are V-shaped where they attach to the nose surface,” he added, “they could be spilling airflow outwards prior to it getting turned outwards by the V-shape connection between the floor and the underneath of the chassis further rearward.”
Anderson also mentioned: “The lower outer corner could also be to generate vortices, which could reenergise the airflow that actually goes underneath the leading edge of the underfloor. Whatever they do, I’m pretty sure that a few other teams will be looking closely at it very soon in CFD.”
How to catch the next 2026 F1 pre-season test in Bahrain
All 10 teams have already had a few days to get used to the new regulations, and they’ll now spend time poring over the data before heading into the Bahrain tests. This break also gives them a chance to make any adjustments based on what they observed in Spain.
The attention is likely to remain on McLaren’s under-nose vanes and Aston Martin’s sidepods when teams hit the track again. The second set of pre-season tests will run from 11-13 February and then again from 18-20 February, both taking place at the Bahrain International Circuit.
The opening race weekend takes place at Albert Park from March 6-8. McLaren head into this year with high hopes for their new design. Norris is looking to build on his championship win last season, while Piastri will be eager for redemption after his near-miss in 2025.
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Category: General Sports
