F1 2026 car launches: Dates, times and how to watch LIVE – gpfans.com
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Following McLaren‘s announcement of their 2026 season launch, we now know the times and dates of every team’s car launch events, as well as details on how you can watch the events live.
Despite only just having wrapped up the 2025 season, drivers and teams only have a short period of time off this winter, with pre-season testing getting underway for 2026 on January 26 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
That is a five-day shakedown event, before testing properly begins with two three-day events in Bahrain in February. The season officially gets underway on March 6 at the Australian Grand Prix.
That expanded period of testing comes because of the wholesale regulation changes that are sweeping into F1 next season, both chassis-side and in terms of the power units.
And the first chance to see the newly-designed liveries will be throughout the month of January, as the first few teams begin to bring their designs to their fans via glamorous launch events.
Red Bull and Racing Bulls will kick off car launch season with a joint event in Detroit on January 15 alongside their new power unit partners Ford.
Aston Martin are, so far, the team who are releasing their car the latest, with the Silverstone-based outfit not having their official season launch until February 9, after the first pre-season shakedown in Barcelona.
However, their new power unit manufacturers Honda will have a launch event focusing on the new 2026 engine on January 20 in Tokyo.
Meanwhile, the two new outfits on the grid, Audi (who have taken over the Sauber team) and Cadillac will be the most anticipated car launches, with their official liveries being revealed for the first time. These take place on January 20 and February 8 respectively.
Haas initially announced that their launch would take place on January 23, but the team have now confirmed that they changed it to avoid the busy date after both Ferrari and Alpine chose the same day.
They will instead move their launch a few days earlier to take place on January 19, when the livery for their 2026 car will be unveiled online.
McLaren have finally announced their season launch date now too, with the Woking-based outfit taking to social media to reveal that they will be releasing their 2026 car design on February 9.
| Team | Location | Date | How to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Bull | Detroit, USA | January 15 | Red Bull Racing website, YouTube |
| Racing Bulls | Detroit, USA | January 15 | Red Bull Racing website, YouTube |
| Haas | Online | January 19 | Haas F1 website and social pages |
| Audi | Berlin, Germany | January 20 | YouTube, Audi social channels |
| Ferrari | Maranello, Italy | January 23 | YouTube, Ferrari social media pages |
| Alpine | Barcelona, Spain | January 23 | YouTube, Alpine social media pages |
| Mercedes | Online | February 2 | Mercedes social channels |
| Williams | TBC | February 3 | TBC |
| Cadillac | Santa Clara, USA | February 8 | Cadillac F1 website, YouTube |
| Aston Martin | TBC | February 9 | TBC |
| McLaren | TBC | February 9 | TBC |
READ MORE: First video of 2026 F1 cars in action released and fans LOVE it
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