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McLaren Unveils Game-Changing ‘Upside Down’ F1 Rear Wing in Austria
Highlights
- McLaren to test upside-down rear wing at Austrian Grand Prix
- Ferrari first introduced the design during Bahrain pre-season testing
- Red Bull deployed a similar wing at the Miami Grand Prix
- McLaren calls the wing “experimental” for Friday practice only
- Chief designer Rob Marshall noted initial legality questions
- Data from Austria will guide McLaren’s future wing development
McLaren will trial an “upside-down” rear wing in Friday practice at the Austrian Grand Prix, seeking straight-line efficiency gains while benchmarking against its standard specification.
The concept flips the upper flap’s orientation in low-drag trim, creating an inverted profile for straights before returning to a conventional loading for corners.
Ferrari revealed the idea in Bahrain testing and raced it in Miami. Red Bull followed that weekend. McLaren’s version now reaches the track for initial evaluation.
McLaren labels the wing experimental and will restrict running to Friday practice at the Red Bull Ring.
The team plans structured back-to-back runs at the Austrian Grand Prix to capture aero performance, balance shifts, and drag levels at the high-speed Red Bull Ring.
Chief designer Rob Marshall says Ferrari’s execution initially prompted legality questions. Once clarified, McLaren’s group studied the geometry and potential integration pathways for its own car.
Marshall: “What works on one car doesn’t always work on another.”
As usual, the process spans CFD screening, wind-tunnel sweeps, and track correlation. The aim is understanding gains, losses, and sensitivities before any race-weekend deployment beyond practice.
The concept targets drag reduction without destroying downforce when reloaded, but interactions with beam wing, floor, and the low-drag state can be highly car-specific.
McLaren will weigh lap-time deltas, tyre behaviour, and efficiency traces against its baseline. A positive read could accelerate introduction later this year, schedules permitting.
Data from Austria will determine whether the wing progresses to future race usage.
This test sits within a broader development cadence, after earlier resource shuffles and sequencing. That context mirrors recent talk of a McLaren upgrade delay and prioritised validation work.
It also reflects ongoing adaptation to the evolving 2026 regulations, with teams probing grey areas to unlock incremental gains.
If McLaren correlates a clear benefit, the wing could expand its circuit toolbox, especially on power-sensitive layouts. If not, the learning still sharpens future aero directions.
Visual Summary
? Experimental Wing
?️ Austria GP
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2026 rules mountain: ?
Ferrari
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Invents
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Red Bull
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McLaren
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Experiments
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Experiments
“What works on one car doesn’t always work on another.”
— McLaren’s Rob Marshall, reflecting on F1 innovation and risk-taking.
James William covers the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, from the Rolex 24 at Daytona to sprint-race formats. His reports include prototype performance reviews, GT class battles, and pit-stop strategy insights for endurance-racing fans.
