McLaren says it may adopt Red Bull's 'Macarena' rear wing

McLaren is weighing whether to copy the rotating rear-wing concept that Red Bull ran in Miami, after CEO Zak Brown said this week the design looked “clever” and potentially useful. Brown’s comments followed a Miami Grand Prix weekend in which Red Bull introduced its own version of the so-called “Macarena” wing, a concept Ferrari first brought into view during pre-season testing in Bahrain. McLaren also arrived in Florida with a broad upgrade package and left with a Sprint one-two and a double podium in Sunday’s race. Brown said the pace spread across the field was narrowing as teams compared solutions under Formula 1’s new 2026 aerodynamic rules. ### What exactly did Zak Brown say about the rear wing? Zak Brown told Sky F1 in Miami that McLaren had studied the rotating rear wing and thought it “could be beneficial,” according to GPblog’s account of the interview. Brown said teams were all watching one another’s ideas and added that he was “not surprised to see another team using it,” a reference to Red Bull adopting a concept first associated with Ferrari. (gpblog.com) The McLaren CEO did not say the team had approved the part for racing, but his comments amounted to the clearest public signal yet that McLaren is considering the design. Brown also said the field was “starting to get consolidated” compared with the opening race in Australia, naming Ferrari and Mercedes alongside Red Bull among the reference points at the front. (gpblog.com) ### Why is the wing being called the “Macarena”? Ferrari introduced the original version of the rotating rear wing during pre-season testing in Bahrain in February, under Formula 1’s new 2026 rules that allow active front and rear wing modes. Formula 1’s official technical coverage said the upper rear-wing element does not simply flatten on straights but flips fully upside down, creating a larger slot gap and reducing drag. (gpblog.com) Lewis Hamilton said in Shanghai that someone had called the part the “Macarena,” while he referred to it as the “flip-flop” wing. The nickname stuck in the paddock because of the way the element rotates through roughly 180 degrees when the low-drag mode is engaged. ### What did Red Bull bring to Miami, and how did it perform? (formula1.com) Red Bull debuted its own rotating rear wing at the Miami Grand Prix on May 1-3 as part of a wider upgrade package. Formula 1’s official coverage said the team’s version appeared to create an even larger slot gap than Ferrari’s, while Motorsport.com reported that the Miami package also included weight reduction and revised sidepods. (formula1.com) Max Verstappen qualified second in Miami and finished fifth in the race after an early spin, according to Formula 1’s race report and results page. GPblog said Brown cited Red Bull’s pace over the weekend as evidence that the Milton Keynes team had found “great development” on the car. ### Is McLaren only looking at the rear wing? Andrea Stella said after Miami that Red Bull’s sidepod concept was also “very interesting” and that every team would be examining it. (formula1.com) Stella told media, including RacingNews365, that teams were still far from aerodynamic convergence under the new rules and that Red Bull had been “quite smart and innovative” in the way it used the regulations. (formula1.com) The FIA’s Miami car-presentation submissions show McLaren brought seven updated components to the event, including a new rear-wing geometry, while Red Bull also listed seven updates. That underlined how aggressively the leading teams are developing early in the first season of the new rules cycle. ### How competitive was McLaren in Miami without that concept? (racingnews365.com) McLaren left Miami with stronger headline results than Red Bull. Lando Norris won the Sprint ahead of Oscar Piastri on May 2, and the team followed that with second and third places in Sunday’s Grand Prix behind Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli. (fia.com) Brown’s remarks suggest McLaren sees no contradiction in pursuing its own package while evaluating rival ideas. In Formula 1’s current development race, teams often test multiple solutions in parallel before settling on the versions they want to carry deeper into the season, as Stella indicated when he said the cars were still “far from converging.” (formula1.com) ### What comes next for the teams involved? Formula 1 returns on May 22-24 for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, the next championship round after Miami. McLaren enters that weekend with Norris and Piastri after its strongest overall result set of the season so far, while Red Bull continues to evaluate the Miami package around Verstappen. (gpblog.com) Max Verstappen is also scheduled to make his Nürburgring 24 Hours debut in May with a Mercedes-AMG GT3 run by Winward Racing and backed by Red Bull, Formula 1 reported when announcing the programme on March 9. (formula1.com) (racingnews365.com)