McLaren explain concern which forced team to 'strip car down'

McLaren has offered an insight into the issues it faced on Thursday in Barcelona which limited its on-track running.

Oscar Piastri jumped behind the wheel of the MCL40 for the first time, as reigning champion Lando Norris gave the car its debut on Wednesday.

Piastri completed 48 laps in the morning session but did not make an appearance in the afternoon due to a car issue.

McLaren technical director for performance, Mark Temple, revealed that it was related to the fuel system.

“We've got a good understanding of where the car is from a baseline point of view,” he said.

“But obviously we've had some issues. We've not been able to do all the running that we would like. 

“We discovered a fuel system problem. 

“The car is very complex, so we decided to bring it back into the garage, strip it down, and fully understand where the problem is coming from.”

McLaren has already outlined that it is treating the week like a true shakedown and none of its running is aimed at extracting performance.

With Piastri getting his first experience with the car built under a fresh set of regulations, Temple stated the Australian is now more tuned in to the new systems.

“The most important thing for the drivers this year is to understand how the new car operates, how the power unit interacts, the energy management, all of those things,” he said. 

“He's got some good references for that. He's also got a feel for how the chassis behaves. 

“We haven't really got into test items and those kind of things. It's more understanding the basics and the really big impact of the change from 2025 to 2026.”