McLaren’s first proper move of the 2026 season hasn’t come from the wind tunnel or the pit wall — it’s come from the wardrobe.
The reigning world champions have confirmed they’ve ended their kit deal with Castore and switched to Puma, and the early signs suggest this is one of those rare off-track changes that lands immediately with the people it’s actually aimed at: the fans. Within hours of the first drop going live, a chunk of the range had already vanished from the shelves.
Several of the staple items went quickest. The £55 McLaren sweaters were gone entirely, while polo shirts and racing jackets also flipped to “unavailable” status almost as soon as the collection appeared. If you wanted a neat barometer of how much pent-up appetite there is around this team right now — and how aggressively supporters will buy into anything that looks and feels like a new era — that’s it.
There’s still stock out there, mind. Puma is continuing to sell caps in papaya and black for £35, alongside graphic t-shirts carrying the McLaren logo and Oscar Piastri branding at the same price point. Hoodies and backpacks are also still available as part of what Puma is positioning as the first wave of releases, with more drops planned as the season approaches.
From Puma’s side, the messaging is exactly what you’d expect: heritage, credibility, and a not-so-subtle reminder that it knows how this game works. Chief executive Arthur Hoeld framed the partnership as the next chapter in a long motorsport story, namechecking the brand’s history and leaning hard on McLaren’s current status at the top of the sport.
“At Puma, we are very proud of our long and successful history in motorsports and having worked with some of the greatest drivers and teams in the industry over the past decades,” Hoeld said. “It is a great honour to write the next chapter by welcoming McLaren Racing, the 2025 Constructors’ and Drivers’ Champions, as our new partners.
“We are looking forward to many successful races together and engaging with the team’s passionate fans around the world to create inspiring collections for them that show the best both brands have to offer.”
That last line is the key. This isn’t just about putting logos on a polo shirt — it’s a full-on lifestyle play, and Puma is already talking in those terms. Replica ranges mirroring what McLaren wears trackside are planned for the 2026 campaign, but there’s also a leisure line intended to keep the papaya look in circulation week-to-week, not just on race Sundays.
McLaren’s decision to move on from Castore — the Manchester-based supplier that also kitted out Red Bull Racing in 2025 — feels like a statement of where the team believes it sits now. When you’re coming off a title double, you don’t want your commercial presentation to look like it’s playing catch-up. You want scale, you want global reach, and you want something that can keep up with demand when it spikes. On day one, at least, Puma’s found out what it means to be attached to a team with serious momentum: you put product out and it simply disappears.
There’s an F1 industry subplot here too. Puma already produces Ferrari’s merchandise, and by adding McLaren it strengthens its position in a paddock that’s increasingly competitive off-track as well as on it. With Adidas supplying Mercedes and Audi, Puma now has three teams in its stable for 2026 — a reminder that brand wars aren’t confined to the circuit.
For McLaren, the optics are straightforward: new kit partner, fresh look, immediate buzz, and a fanbase eager to buy into the next run at the top. The cars will do the real talking soon enough, but for now, the first lap of 2026 has been run through the online shop — and McLaren’s already selling out.
