McLaren Tests Upside-Down Rear Wing in Austria
NXTbets Pro | Published On: June 24, 2026
McLaren rear wing trial
McLaren will run an experimental upside-down rear wing in Friday practice at the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, a trial move that adds a fresh wrinkle to its latest aerodynamic work on the MCL40. The team says the component is a test item, not a race-ready upgrade, and it forms part of a small update package that also brings minor refinements around the rear corners of the car. McLaren is treating the run as a data-gathering exercise, with the wing expected to appear only on Friday unless factory analysis points to a return later in the season.
The approach fits McLaren’s current development focus. Technical director for applied engineering Neil Houldey said the updates are aimed at finding more performance for the team, and the wing trial gives engineers a chance to measure whether the concept brings a gain worth pursuing. McLaren has not disclosed the details of its design, which leaves the test centered on how the idea behaves on track rather than on the exact shape of the part itself. That makes the session at the Red Bull Ring a measured step, not a headline grab. It gives McLaren a controlled way to compare the concept against the rest of the package and against the demands of the circuit. Friday practice also offers a clean baseline before teams settle deeper into the weekend, which is the right moment for a limited evaluation like this. For McLaren, the priority is simple, collect the numbers, check the balance of the package and decide whether the concept deserves more work.
Ferrari rear-wing concept
McLaren’s trial follows ideas already used by Ferrari and Red Bull, both of which pushed the rear-wing concept into Formula 1’s development conversation before McLaren arrived at its own version. Ferrari first drew attention to the idea in winter testing with a wing that rotated 180 degrees when straight-line mode was activated. Red Bull brought its version to the Miami Grand Prix. McLaren is now the latest team to test the same broad concept, although the team has made clear it is not simply copying a rival part and bolting it on for race use.
Rob Marshall said Ferrari’s version drew McLaren’s attention, but he also stressed that rival ideas still have to clear two hard checks, the regulations and McLaren’s own car architecture. That matters because an aerodynamic concept that works on one car can fail on another if the surrounding bodywork, suspension package or flow structures do not suit it. The concept itself is only part of the story. The way air moves over and around the rear of the car, and how the car behaves in different modes, decides whether the idea offers a real gain. McLaren’s decision to test the wing at the Red Bull Ring shows the team sees enough promise to explore it further, but it also shows a careful approach. The team is not racing to a conclusion. It is judging whether the concept can survive the rules, fit the car and deliver the performance it wants.
McLaren data plan
McLaren expects the wing to stay on the car only for Friday unless the factory analysis after the session gives the idea a path back into the car later in the season. That puts the emphasis on one practice run and the work that follows in the garage and back at base. The team wants to gather data and assess whether the concept belongs in a future update cycle. That process should reveal whether the upside-down layout creates useful aerodynamic effects or whether it only adds complexity to a package that already includes other small changes.
The wider update package gives McLaren a chance to test the rear wing alongside detail changes at the rear of the car, which should help engineers judge the interaction between the parts. Teams often chase gains through this kind of layered development, where one change can sharpen the effect of another. McLaren’s latest test fits that pattern. It is not a full-scale redesign. It is a selective probe into one corner of the car’s performance map. If the Friday data points the right way, the concept can move into more detailed study. If it does not, McLaren still gains information that can shape its next set of updates. That is the value of the plan. It gives the team a low-risk way to push for more pace while keeping the race weekend focused on established package decisions.
