McLaren F1 Team Ignites 2026 Challenger in Historic First Fire-Up

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. 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.