Mercedes shelves ’Macarena’ wing for 2026

Mercedes is expected to introduce another wave of upgrades after the summer break, but Auto Motor und Sport reports that the increasingly popular ’Macarena’ rear wing will not be among them.

Ferrari and Red Bull developed the rotating rear-wing concept over the winter, while McLaren tested its own version in Hungary and is expected to race it by Monza.

Mercedes, by contrast, has managed strong straight-line speed without it and is reportedly unwilling to spend the necessary development budget on the system this year.

Instead, resources are being directed towards the 2027 car.

Deputy team principal Bradley Lord says Mercedes deliberately chose a less aggressive development program than its rivals.

"The wind tunnel delivers a certain amount of laptime every week," he said.

"With the budget cap, you have to decide when to bring parts to the track and realise the performance leap. Ideally, an upgrade comes when a component is nearing the end of its service life anyway."

"The trick is in the timing."

Lord said Mercedes has still made many smaller changes that did not always appear on the FIA’s official upgrade lists.

"This allowed us to maintain our position," he said.

McLaren boss Andrea Stella, meanwhile, admitted developing its own Macarena system was difficult.

"It has been a complicated project so far," said the Italian.

"We knew it would be complex, and I have to say that our design department implemented this project in such a way that it works well, as far as the wing is concerned, meaning the mechanical actuation and the actuation times."

Stella said track testing was particularly important because the challenge involves the aero behaviour of the whole car as downforce returns.

"With a project like this, you can’t rely solely on the wind tunnel."