United States Grand Prix · News
Mercedes had inverted rear wing on its drawing board over a year ago
Simone Resta says Mercedes assessed Ferrari’s inverted rear wing concept more than a year ago but decided its performance trade-off did not justify production.
Mercedes had explored an inverted rear-wing concept more than a year before it appeared on a rival’s car, but decided against developing it at the time, deputy technical director Simone Resta has revealed.
The design, known as a “Macarena” wing, was first introduced by Ferrari. Its upper flap rotates beyond 200 degrees into an aircraft-wing position, rather than opening in the manner of a conventional DRS flap. The design can cut drag substantially, but also costs downforce while open.
Mercedes weighed the drag gain against lost downforce
Resta said the team had examined the idea in detail and recognised its potential to reduce drag. Mercedes concluded, however, that the benefit did not outweigh the development work and component manufacturing required.
That assessment is not final. Resta said Mercedes could return to the concept, while continuing to study solutions used by other teams for ideas that might suit its own car.
Ferrari tested the wing during pre-season running in Bahrain before racing it for the first time at the Miami Grand Prix. Red Bull brought its own version to the same event, while McLaren tried an experimental design in Friday practice in Austria. The arrival of those variations has made the wing a prominent technical talking point. Mercedes has also pursued aerodynamic solutions inspired by Ferrari, including its Madrid exhaust-wing development.
Resta expects a close fight in Austin
Attention now turns to the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. Mercedes arrives after a mixed sequence: it won in Baku, Monza and Madrid, but fell behind Red Bull and Ferrari in Singapore.
Resta said the pecking order can be difficult to predict from one weekend to the next. He expects Red Bull to challenge at the front after several strong races, while Ferrari has been competitive across varied conditions, even if it has not always had the final step to lead.
He also pointed to McLaren’s status as world champions and its ability to be clearly the strongest team at some events. The comments echo the recent assessment that Mercedes is no longer the fastest as McLaren takes control.
Resta said all three rivals could be competitive in Austin. Mercedes, he added, is focused on extracting more from its package and finding a way back to the front, as it has done earlier in the season.