The reigning world champions had already planned to skip the opening day and were then forced to sit out day two due to rain, with Lando Norris finally getting his first taste of the new car.

The Briton ran throughout the morning, and it remained unclear whether he would hand over to teammate Oscar Piastri later in the day or stay in the car for the full session.

The MCL40 is running a special full-black livery for the Barcelona tests, with the final design set to be unveiled at a dedicated launch event on 9 February.

The newly crowned world champion took to the track with around an hour and a half remaining in the session, first completing an installation lap before returning to the garage, and then stringing together a series of laps, albeit without any meaningful lap-time references.

Following a rain-affected start to the test, conditions at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya are expected to be far more settled today, opening the door to a busier and more productive day of running.

Mercedes is among the teams confirmed to be on track, with George Russell scheduled for morning running, alongside Haas, which will field Oliver Bearman. Red Bull and Ferrari are instead set to sit out the day, while Alpine and Racing Bulls will add to the on-track line-up.