McLaren has shelved plans to trial its innovative new rear wing concept in Austria, pushing the introduction back until at least the Belgian Grand Prix.
The team had intended to run the Ferrari-inspired rotating rear wing on Lando Norris’ car during practice at the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix weekend.
However, McLaren ultimately decided the component required further development before being subjected to the demands of live track running, where any failure would waste precious practice time.
The wing concept, nicknamed the “McMacarena,” draws inspiration from Ferrari’s SF-26 “Macarena” wing, which features a unique actuation mechanism for the upper rear wing flap during Straight Line Mode.
Rather than pulling the flap toward the horizontal in the traditional manner of the old Drag Reduction System, the actuator instead rotates the entire flap, offering a greater drag-defeating effect.
Red Bull also had a similar concept in development and introduced their version slightly after Ferrari, making McLaren the third major team to pursue this aerodynamic approach.
The pivoting mechanism is understood to require extensive development work to become robust enough for regular race conditions, with teams also navigating its complex effects on tyre loadings and downforce levels during the rotation phase.
Norris himself acknowledged the challenge of bringing such a component to the track, while expressing enthusiasm for the innovation when speaking on Thursday in Austria.
“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, adding, “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.”
The Briton was still expecting to run the wing when he made those comments, before the team made the final call to delay its track debut.
Norris also praised the creativity behind the original Ferrari concept, saying, “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.”
He added that he wished McLaren had possessed the technology earlier, reflecting the competitive pressure the team is facing midway through the 2026 season.
McLaren chief technical officer Rob Marshall had signalled at the start of the season that the team would observe rival innovations before committing to a definitive development path for the MCL40.
The cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix effectively paused the season after just three rounds, but also provided a month-long window for teams to accelerate technical development programmes.
McLaren must weigh the potential performance gains against the risks associated with introducing such a complex component, particularly given the constraints imposed by Formula 1’s budget cap regulations.
The competitive context adds further pressure, with Norris sitting a distant fifth in the drivers’ standings, holding fewer than half the points of championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
A hydraulic leak further disrupted Norris’ running during practice in Austria, compounding the already difficult weekend for the Woking-based outfit.
With Silverstone hosting a sprint weekend and offering only one hour of practice, it is considered highly unlikely McLaren will attempt to evaluate the McMacarena wing there, meaning Belgium is the most probable venue for its public debut.