Piastri Stopped by Fuel-System Fault in Barcelona Test

McLaren’s MCL40 debut in Barcelona was disrupted when Oscar Piastri’s running was curtailed by a fuel‑system fault that stopped him after 48 laps on the penultimate day of the shakedown. The team had only taken to the track on Wednesday, with Lando Norris completing 76 laps, and used the limited sessions to start adapting to the radically revised chassis and power unit for 2026. Piastri finished fourth on the unofficial timesheets, 1.974 seconds off the fastest lap set by Mercedes’ George Russell, but the afternoon was lost when engineers stripped the car down to locate and repair the fuel-system issue.

McLaren described the outing as a shakedown focused on exposing bugs, gathering data and practicing energy management rather than chasing representative race pace. Technical staff, led by performance technical director Mark Temple, confirmed the fault prevented further running ahead of the final Barcelona day and that engineers were working to fix the problem; Piastri said he expected to return on Friday. With only one Barcelona day remaining before two further tests in Bahrain, the team planned to split running between Piastri and Norris to recover mileage and continue setup work.

The interruption left McLaren short of valuable laps compared with rivals — Mercedes and Ferrari logged significantly heavier mileage across the test — increasing pressure to find setup direction and improve the car’s feel and pace. Team statements emphasized that every minute of track time was precious, and the setback may force McLaren to prioritize reliability fixes alongside performance evaluation as they prepare for the Bahrain tests and the season opener. Despite the disruption, McLaren framed the session as useful for troubleshooting early teething issues on the MCL40.