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McLaren has explained why its planned trial of a ‘Macarena’-style rear wing never made it onto the car during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, despite the team bringing the experimental part to the circuit with the intention of running it in practice.
Under Formula 1’s new-for-2026 regulations, teams are continuing to search aggressively for performance gains, with upgrade packages appearing across the grid on a race-by-race basis. One of the most eye-catching concepts this season has been the so-called ‘Macarena’ or ‘flip-flop’ rear wing, a design that rotates shut when the brakes are applied at the end of a straight.
Ferrari was the first team to run the technology in pre-season testing before introducing it during a Grand Prix weekend in Miami, while Red Bull has since developed its own version. McLaren arrived in Austria with its own interpretation, but the programme was halted before track running began.
Oscar Piastri had confirmed that the wing was expected to be used only in practice and only on Lando Norris’ car. However, Norris’ Free Practice 1 running was already compromised by a hydraulic leak, and the rear wing itself failed the internal checks McLaren required before approving it for use.
Technical Director of Engineering Neil Houldey said the team had worked intensively to get the component ready in time, but the final approval process exposed issues that could not be ignored.
“We were working incredibly hard back at the factory just to get something out here to enable us to test, working in the lab,” Houldey said.
“We managed to get it flown out but when it arrived, we did some further testing that we knew we had to do to sign it off before it was able to run. Unfortunately, it didn’t pass the tests we needed to complete, so we’re sending it back and we’re going to delay that.”
For McLaren, the decision underlined the balance every team faces in 2026: pushing development speed without compromising the preparation needed for the rest of the weekend. That theme has already been central to the team’s recent direction, with Andrea Stella urging McLaren to raise its development intensity after Austria, as covered in our analysis of McLaren’s push to accelerate development after the Austrian GP qualifying gap.
Houldey admitted the outcome was frustrating for those involved at the factory, but insisted McLaren made the correct call by focusing on a known race specification.
“I think [it’s] disappointing for everyone back at the factory with the amount of effort that was put in, but actually the right decision is that we needed the track time,” he said.
The part will now return to the factory, with McLaren planning to revisit the concept once the required fixes are in place.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.