McLaren to auction future race cars to fund Triple Crown bid

McLaren is riding a rare crest of momentum on the track while pushing a bold, history-driven fundraising move off it. After an emphatic first half of the Formula 1 season, in which the British team has won 11 of 14 Grands Prix and seen its drivers on the podium at nearly every event, the marque announced a high-profile auction that will offer three of its future racing machines to the highest bidders. The sale, staged in Abu Dhabi during the season’s finale weekend, will feature a 2026 Formula 1 car, a 2026 IndyCar entry, and the 2027 World Endurance Championship Hypercar, all of which have not yet raced. Bidders will acquire track-tested machines that will only go on public track duties after their respective seasons, and they will receive unprecedented VIP access to McLaren’s team and on-track activity.

The auction, organized with RM Sothebys, marks what McLaren describes as a world-first for the motorsport world: selling future, as-yet-unbuilt factory machinery before its official debut. The cars will become property of their new owners only after they finish the competition cycles for which they are designed, and will then be delivered years down the line, with delivery...