McLaren are the last of the front-running teams to show up with their own take on the Macarena wing. Ferrari had it in pre-season testing. Red Bull joined the party in Miami. And now, several months into a season where they have been scrapping to stay relevant, McLaren will trial their version in Friday practice at the Austrian Grand Prix. Better late than never, Woking.
What the Macarena Wing Actually Does
In case you missed the memo: the Macarena wing works by rotating the upper flap of the rear wing through 180 degrees when straight-line mode is activated. The result is a dramatic reduction in drag, freeing up top speed without sacrificing downforce in the corners. Ferrari unveiled the concept in Bahrain and raced it from Miami. Red Bull introduced a subtly different interpretation at the same circuit. McLaren’s version has been confirmed as an “experimental” test item for Friday’s two practice sessions at the Red Bull Ring, with a race debut expected later in the season.
McLaren Knew About It All Along
Chief designer Rob Marshall was refreshingly candid about his team’s reaction to Ferrari’s innovation when it first appeared.
“Everyone saw that and thought, ‘oh, okay, yeah, that’s all right. But [are] we sure that’s legal?’ Yeah, it is! Okay.”
Which raises the obvious question: if you spotted it in February and confirmed it was legal, what took so long? The honest answer is that McLaren have spent the first half of the season firefighting. They collected a miserable 18 points from their opening four rounds and have been playing catch-up ever since, with major upgrade packages landing in Miami and Canada. Friday’s wing test is a sign that they are finally looking forward rather than backward.
A Bigger Austrian Weekend
The Macarena test is just one piece of a broader upgrade story in Spielberg. Red Bull are also launching their second major package of 2026 this weekend, while Ferrari are expected to bring internal combustion engine improvements. Technical director Neil Houldey kept expectations measured, describing the overall McLaren package as “lighter than some of our recent updates” but insisted it fits the team’s season-long development plan.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are 73 and 68 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli respectively. Mercedes are already discussing team orders to protect their title advantage, which tells you how far McLaren still need to travel.
A Friday Experiment With Long-Term Intent
McLaren will not race the Macarena wing this weekend. The point is to collect data, compare it against the standard wing, and build a picture for when it does matter. Andrea Stella has been candid that the 2026 regulations are so new that all teams are still exploring directions, with full convergence perhaps a year away. A Friday test in Austria is the right, disciplined approach. It just would have been a more comfortable story had they arrived here having already split the podium rather than chasing it.
