As testing gets underway behind closed doors in Barcelona, McLaren has released the first images of its 2026 contender, albeit in a special 'stealth' livery.

Having won both titles last season, the Woking outfit would normally head into the new season feeling confident, however one of the biggest rules overhauls in living memory sees all eleven teams approaching the new year with trepidation.

While we await the official launch on 9 February to see what the team's race livery will look like, with Mastercard as title sponsor one can expect the red and orange logos of the credit card giant t feature prominently.

"There's been so much work behind the design, the realisation, the build of the 2026 cars," said Andrea Stella, according to Motorsport.com. "What I can remember for me, it's almost unprecedented, not only in terms of the changes themselves, because I think never before there's been such a huge and simultaneous change of chassis, power unit and tyres. But even the sheer volume of redesigning that went through the last 20 months, I would say, at McLaren has been probably the biggest design or in general dealing with a new car project that I was a part of.

"This all makes it extremely interesting to see how the cars will perform, how the competitiveness order will be somehow mixed up," he added. "We are champions, but we don't carry the being champions into '26. Everyone will start from the starting blocks. Everyone will start from zero."

With each team restricted to running just three days of the five-day test, the world champions have opted to sit out the opening day.

"Our internal narrative is anything we will achieve, we will have to deserve it and we will have to earn it on the ground. So that's our mindset, that's our philosophy.

"This is why we've been ambitious with the 2026 car at the same time, because it's such a level of redesign. You also have to be cautious to make sure that you actually have a car, that you realise it in time, that you build it in time.

"So far, I have to say that our program is going on plan, something which obviously we are happy with and it gives me the chance to thank the entire team for having been able to realise the 2026 car."

Red Bull's Isack Hadjar is setting the early pace in Spain, ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Liam Lawson.