Two days after becoming world champion by finishing third in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Norris – wearing a special gold helmet crash for the occasion – returned to his title-winning MCL39 at the Yas Marina Circuit as all 10 teams hit the track with two cars.
Norris was still running with his usual career-number four on his car’s nosecone, with the number one that is reserved for the reigning world champion – which Norris confirmed to Sky Sports News on Monday he will use in 2026 – set to feature from pre-season testing at the end of January.
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Norris was one of the 15 current race drivers in action testing 2026 Pirelli tyres in 2025 mule cars ahead of F1’s major rules overhaul for next year which features significant changes to chassis and aerodynamics, in addition to revised power units.
Norris ran in the morning before team-mate Oscar Piastri, who finished 13 points behind the Briton in the standings, taking over the car in the afternoon.
All 10 teams had to use their two race cars at the single-day test.
One car has to be driven by an experienced driver for 2026 tyre duties, while the other one with fewer than three grands prix starts in designated young-driver running.
Underlining that preparations for 2026 have started already despite the old season barely having finished, Red Bull’s two teams each ran their respective new drivers for next season on Tuesday.
Isack Hadjar was in the senior Red Bull car, with British teenager Arvid Lindblad in the Racing Bulls ahead of his maiden F1 campaign as an 18-year-old.
Like McLaren, Ferrari opted to split their 2026 tyre running between race drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, with the latter having promised to “completely unplug from the matrix” over F1’s short winter once his post-season duties are completed following his disappointing first campaign in red.
Leclerc completed the morning running before Hamilton took over, at a typically sun-kissed Yas Marina Circuit
Mercedes also used both race drivers, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, to split 2026 work along with Williams (Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz), Haas (Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman) and Sauber (Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto).
Former McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne conducted Pirelli duties for Aston Martin, where he is now a test and reserve. Jak Crawford returned to their other car with the American one of a number of young drivers on track who had also run in first F1 practice in Abu Dhabi last Friday.
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