McLaren unveils 'Macarena' rear wing

McLaren said ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix that it will add new components across the MCL40’s floor, chassis, front and rear wings, bodywork, halo and roll hoop. The package continues a development plan team principal Andrea Stella outlined in April, when he said McLaren expected an “entirely new MCL40” to emerge across the Miami and Canadian rounds. (racingnews365.com) Reports circulating on May 20 described the headline item as McLaren’s version of the so-called “Macarena” rear wing. McLaren has not publicly used that nickname in the material reviewed, but the team has confirmed a broad Canada upgrade package. ### What exactly has McLaren confirmed for Canada? McLaren said the Canada package includes “a number of new components across the floor, chassis, front and rear wings, bodywork, halo and roll hoop.” That wording was published ahead of the Montreal weekend and framed the changes as the next step after Miami, where the team had already introduced seven updates. (racingnews365.com) Andrea Stella had telegraphed that push on April 23, saying McLaren intended to deliver “a completely new car” from an aerodynamic-upgrades point of view across the North American races. Stella also said the calendar changes earlier in the season had helped teams streamline their upgrade work. (racingnews365.com) ### Why is the rear wing getting most of the attention? The rear wing is drawing attention because outside reports have linked McLaren’s new part to the “Macarena” concept already discussed around rival designs. RacingNews365 said the most compelling single update in Montreal is a rear wing “believed to be McLaren’s take” on that concept. (racingnews365.com) Formula 1’s 2026 rules make rear-wing development more visible than usual. The championship’s revised regulations introduced active aerodynamics, with front and rear wing elements able to change angle depending on where the car is on track. On designated straights, Formula 1 says drivers can activate a low-drag mode that opens the flaps and flattens the wings to reduce drag and increase straight-line speed. (formula1.com) ### So what is a “Macarena” rear wing in plain terms? Formula 1’s own technical coverage has referred this season to Ferrari’s “flip-flop” rear wing as one of the notable innovations under the new rules. That description points to a rear-wing solution that changes attitude or load characteristics in a way teams believe can improve the trade-off between cornering grip and straight-line efficiency. (racingnews365.com) The “Macarena” label appears to be paddock shorthand rather than an official regulatory term. Based on the reporting now in circulation, the nickname refers to a rear-wing concept that helps a car move between higher-downforce and lower-drag states more effectively within the 2026 active-aero framework. (formula1.com) That is an inference from the rules and the technical reporting, not a public McLaren engineering description. ### Why bring this package now? Canada was always part of McLaren’s timing. Stella said in April that Miami and Canada would together reveal the team’s main aerodynamic step, and the team repeated before Montreal that Miami was only the first big phase of its plan to add performance to the MCL40. (formula1.com) Montreal also matters because McLaren is trying to recover ground. Formula1.com said in April that McLaren started 2026 on the back foot and was using the long gap created by calendar changes to refine its upgrade package. RacingNews365 said the team arrived in Canada third in the constructors’ standings, behind Mercedes and Ferrari. (racingnews365.com) ### What should readers watch once the cars hit the track? Montreal’s Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve should make straight-line efficiency and braking-zone performance easier to spot than at some other venues. If the rear-wing change is doing what outside reports suggest, the clearest signs would be in top speed, stability into chicanes and how much downforce McLaren can retain without paying too large a drag penalty. (formula1.com) That framing is based on the circuit’s usual demands and Formula 1’s description of the 2026 low-drag mode. The next public test comes on May 22, when the Canadian Grand Prix weekend begins in Montreal. McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will run the updated MCL40 against a Mercedes team that has also targeted Canada for a major upgrade step. (formula1.com) (racingnews365.com)