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Motorsport

Stuart Codling

Why McLaren hasn't run its "McMacarena" wing in Austria

McLaren Ferrari Austria Lando Norris Red Bull the Red Bull Ring

McLaren has put its plans to evaluate a new low-drag rear wing package on pause until after the Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Motorsport.com has learned.

The team brought a rear wing treatment inspired by Ferrari's so-called 'Macarena' wing to the Red Bull Ring and planned to evaluate it on Lando Norris' car during practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. But it decided the component needed more development before trying it on track, where any failure would cost valuable running time.

First seen on Ferrari's SF-26, though Red Bull had a similar concept in development that it introduced slightly later, the 'Macarena' wing features a different actuation mechanism for the upper rear wing flap when Straight Line Mode is deployed. Rather than pulling the flap closer to the horizontal, as with the old Drag Reduction System (DRS), the actuator rotates the entire flap.

"We've done a lot of work in the last few weeks at the factory, just trying to get something to this event, because we knew this event would be a good opportunity to test the wing," said technical director Neil Houldey.

"A lot of work in the lab that happened over the last few days, and we knew that when it came here we still had a little bit of sign-off work to do.

"When we fitted it up and did that final sign-off, we weren't comfortable enough to take it into the first session. So, we're sending it back, and we've got a little bit more work to do before we'll take it back out to the track again.

"I don't want to go into technical detail on it, but we realised once we actuated it that actually it wasn't doing what we needed it to, and therefore it was best not to spend time trying to make it work in that first session. It was important for us to try and get running on the car that we wanted to run for the rest of the weekend, because the intention was only to run it for a very, very short period of time anyway.

"Actually, we were best to focus on the car and this weekend rather than development work, and we'll bring that wing back when we've learnt a little bit more and are comfortable with the design."

It's understood that the pivoting wing offers a greater drag-defeating effect than a conventionally actuated one, but the mechanism requires a great deal of development to be robust enough for frequent use in a race environment. There is also a learning process in terms of how it affects the aerodynamic map of the car during the transition phase – ie when it is rotating – because this has second-order effects on tyre loadings and downforce levels when approaching corners.

McLaren ran its regular rear wing setup during practice in Austria (Photo by: Getty Images)

"We have to iron it out, we have to try and make sure it works, and maybe in a couple of races we can introduce it properly," said Norris on Thursday in Austria, when he was still expecting to try the new wing.

"It's just a good job by the team to try and push forward as quickly as possible. It's not an easy project. It takes time to figure out such a complicated wing like this.

"But it's cool, it's innovative, it's nice to see. It was pretty cool to see Ferrari at the beginning of the year, and it's amazing what someone who understands the rules and regulations and understands the wording, how you kind of work around these areas.

"And I think that's something that makes Formula 1 very special, how people can create these kind of concepts. I wish we had it three months ago already."

Before the start of the 2026 season, McLaren's chief technical officer Rob Marshall suggested his team would spend the first few races learning about the behaviour of its MCL40, and observing others' innovations, before deciding on a definitive development path for the car. The cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix shifted the timelines slightly since it, in effect, put the season on pause after just three rounds, but also provided a whole month without races in which to focus on technical development.

Research and manufacturing lead times are such that we are only now seeing the results of teams being "inspired" by large, sophisticated innovations introduced by others at the start of the season. And with components such as this there is an element of risk versus reward, given the limitations imposed by F1's budget cap.

McLaren must therefore have a high level of confidence that this is worth pursuing. But at the same time it has to balance those risks, given its position in the constructors' championship relative to Mercedes and Ferrari. Norris is already a distant fifth in the drivers' standings, with fewer than half the points of championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

The new rear wing may provide a performance benefit, but in modern F1 there is no single component you can fit to a car and find half a second per lap. There is more to be lost by missing out on track time during practice – and as it happened, a hydraulic leak delayed Norris' arrival on track in Austria anyway.

Since there is only one hour of practice on a sprint weekend, it is highly unlikely McLaren will evaluate the new wing at Silverstone. It will probably not be seen in public until Belgium.