McLaren Unveils Rear Corner Updates and Experimental Rear Wing for Austria

What McLaren is bringing to Spielberg

McLaren confirmed it will introduce updates to the rear corners of the MCL40, while also evaluating an experimental rear wing during Friday's free practice sessions at the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix. ^[1] The new rear wing is treated as a test item and is not expected to be used beyond Friday practice at the Red Bull Ring; following factory analysis, the design or a variant could re-emerge later in the season as a performance upgrade. ^[2]

Technical Director of Applied Engineering Neil Houldey described the scope of the package in the team's official preview. "We're always looking to make refinements that add performance and lap time to the car. For this event, we've focused on minor detail updates around the car's rear corners, as well as an experimental rear wing that will run throughout Friday's sessions. While the overall package is lighter than some of our recent updates, these developments are all part of our season-long development pathway." ^[1]

The 'Macarena' wing in context

McLaren is the latest squad to trial an upside-down rear wing concept at the Austrian Grand Prix, following similar designs from Ferrari and Red Bull. ^[2] Ferrari shocked the F1 paddock when it debuted a unique upside-down rear wing during pre-season testing in Bahrain; the innovative design rotates the wing so the top flap is inverted when straight mode is activated. ^[3] Ferrari did not race the wing until the Miami Grand Prix, where Red Bull also debuted its own version of the design. ^[3]

In essence, the top flap of the rear wing rotates into an upside-down position in straight-line mode, reducing drag and increasing top speed. ^[7] Running the wing in practice, presumably with back-to-back comparisons against the standard wing, will give McLaren an important trial of the concept. ^[3]

:::analysis The compact Red Bull Ring layout, with its short lap and multiple straight-mode activation zones, makes it a logical venue to baseline a drag-reducing rear wing concept. A circuit where lap times are split by hundredths of a second amplifies the value of even a small straight-line speed gain. If the data from Friday supports the design, McLaren could arrive at a high-speed venue later in the campaign with a race-ready version, which would tighten an already close battle at the front. :::

Season backdrop

McLaren will look to build on its encouraging performance in Barcelona, where the Woking-based outfit returned to the podium after a difficult run of races in Monaco and Canada. ^[5] Heading into the Austrian weekend, the constructors' standings read: Mercedes 262 points, Ferrari 190 points, McLaren 141 points, Red Bull 89 points. ^[6]

Forecasts suggest changing weather conditions are possible in the Styrian mountains, potentially giving teams one of their first meaningful opportunities to run the 2026 cars in wet conditions; the lack of wet-weather mileage under the current regulations means any rain could provide a valuable data-gathering exercise. ^[3] McLaren acknowledged that scenario directly in its official preview, with Houldey noting the team is preparing for the possibility and that wet running would deepen the team's understanding of both car and power unit behaviour in low-grip conditions.^[1]

Related reading

• Tire degradation at the Red Bull Ring
• How the undercut works at short circuits