McLaren's 2026 F1 car sold for $11.5m, but it comes with a few catches

McLaren‘s next Formula 1 car has not yet been raced, seen, or even fully built, but one buyer has paid close to $11.5 million (£8.6m) to buy a 2026 contender — which they will only be able to drive with severe restrictions.

In what is thought to be the first auction of its kind, McLaren has pre-sold one of its 2026 MCL40A cars, but will only deliver it in 2028 to prevent any of its design secrets from falling into rivals’ hands.

Even then, any running is likely to be classed as Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) which is controlled by the FIA, meaning that any track sessions will come out of the F1 team’s annual allowance of testing time, and all running will be tightly controlled by McLaren itself.

Despite the restrictions, and the possibility next year’s car won’t be as successful as this year’s title-winning machine, the bidding at RM Sotheby’s Abu Dhabi sale reached $1.48m (£8.62m), which is within the range of Michael Schumacher-winning Ferrari F1 cars that have been sold in recent years.

The buyer will be able to choose whether they receive a car raced by newly-crowned world champion Lando Norris or team-mate Oscar Piastri. While they wait for delivery, McLaren has committed to provide a package of benefits to help pass the time.

The buyer will receive a non-running 2025 show car on a lease basis for display purposes and, next season, will get a front-row view of their car in action.

The selling price includes the opportunity to attend its launch, when they will cast their eyes on the $11.5m car for the first time, and will also be given premium hospitality tickets to two grands prix in 2026, with the ability to watch sessions from the pit garage.

A tour of the McLaren Technology Centre, led by Norris, Piastri and McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, is thrown in too, along with visits to the Le Mans 24 Hours and Indy 500.

Once delivered, the 2026 car may only be used in demonstration or track-day settings, with McLaren engineers and mechanics in attendance, and under conditions agreed with the team, its power-unit supplier Mercedes, the FIA and key suppliers.

Those conditions, for the next-generation of cars, don’t appear to have been written yet, but are likely to be similar to 2025 restrictions.

This season, teams have been able to test current-generation cars from past seasons (2022-2024) for up to 20 days. These are classed as ‘previous cars’.

If the regulations remain similar for the new-generation machinery then, initially at least, any track running by the buyer would come out of McLaren’s allocation.

The next set of technical regulations will introduce lighter cars, active aerodynamics and new-generation hybrid power units, increasing the sensitivity around intellectual property, safety and operational control.

The auction listing makes clear that McLaren retains control over how the car is operated, suggesting that unrestricted private running will not be an option. While this mirrors the reality of modern customer F1 ownership – where manufacturers typically control logistics and running – the scale of the purchase price and the lack of regulatory clarity make the arrangement particularly striking.