Ferrari continues to hold an important development advantage with its innovative “Macarena” rear wing on the SF-26, while Red Bull is still working through problems with its own interpretation, McLaren is preparing to introduce a similar concept after the Formula 1 summer break and Mercedes appears to have abandoned its version for the W17, reportedly for budget reasons. Being first has given Maranello months of valuable development time on one of the most sophisticated aerodynamic ideas of the 2026 season.
In Formula 1, even copying is an art. Some teams invent concepts and establish new development paths, while others reproduce ideas they have seen elsewhere and sometimes evolve them further. There is nothing unusual about that — Adrian Newey’s career has repeatedly demonstrated how important it is to recognise and develop a strong technical idea. The major advantage of innovation, however, is that being first can leave a team one step ahead even over the medium term.
Ferrari’s Macarena wing highlights the SF-26’s innovative approach
The 2026 Formula 1 regulations have produced numerous solutions of varying complexity across different areas of the cars, and Ferrari has been among the most active and innovative teams from an aerodynamic perspective. The unusual concept at the front of the floor, featuring the mini-Venturi inlet, attracted attention, as did the immediately sophisticated diffuser. Above all, however, the FTM and the Ferrari Macarena rear wing have become two of the SF-26’s most distinctive technical features.
The small winglet positioned behind the exhaust has already been banned for next season, so Maranello’s engineers are doing everything possible to extract its full benefit during 2026. The reverse rear-wing concept, by contrast, remains safe for the time being. The FIA is currently studying the technology and discussing with Red Bull the problems encountered with its implementation, but there is not yet any suggestion that the concept itself will be prohibited.
The solution is valuable because it can improve rear-wing efficiency and fits particularly well with the demands of the current regulations. That helps explain why Ferrari’s early investment in the concept has become increasingly important as rival teams explore similar development paths.
Ferrari submitted its Macarena wing concept to the FIA in 2025
Ferrari presented the designs for its Macarena wing almost a year ago, during the summer of 2025, becoming the first team to submit this type of solution to the FIA. The concept was approved by the technical department led by Nikolas Tombazis, who had already commented on the wing when it appeared during testing and surprised many people in the Formula 1 paddock.
“We always encourage solutions that reduce drag. As far as we are concerned, Ferrari’s solution is legal,” said Nikolas Tombazis, the Greek engineer and former Ferrari technical figure.
On that occasion, Lewis Hamilton completed only a short two-lap run with the Macarena wing before Ferrari removed it from the car. The engineers wanted to test it in real track conditions — inevitably showing it to their direct rivals in the process — before continuing work on the wing’s structure and mechanism and analysing the first pieces of genuine track data.
Gathering that information was particularly important with such a complex type of wing. Once Ferrari had shown the concept publicly, rival engineers immediately began assessing whether it was worth following the same direction. The early interest was reflected in the emergence of similar Macarena-style concepts elsewhere on the grid.
James Vowles summed up how Formula 1 teams normally react when an innovative concept appears. “In these situations, teams react in one of two ways: either by saying they had already thought of it and discarded it, or that they hadn’t thought of it and within 24 hours the engineers know whether it is a solution worth testing in the factory or not,” James Vowles said in Bahrain.
Ferrari overcame early instability before the Miami debut
The rotating rear wing reappeared in China as Ferrari attempted to move towards its introduction and accelerate development. However, it was subsequently put aside after some braking instability emerged. These were known problems that Ferrari had already been working on and believed it could manage, but they were enough to postpone the full debut until Miami, where the final version of the solution appeared.
From that point onwards, the SF-26 has consistently run with the Macarena wing without encountering further problems. The Miami specification marked an important stage in Ferrari’s SF-26 development, giving the engineers the opportunity to accumulate data and refine a system that had initially appeared extremely complex.
The advantage built up over those months allowed the technical group led by Loic Serra and Diego Tondi, together with Frank Sanchez and Ferrari’s entire aerodynamic department, to develop the first major evolution of the concept. That version was seen in Hungary, where the evolved Macarena rear wing appeared on the SF-26.
During the same period, Ferrari was also able to optimise the mechanism itself and reduce weight, progressively refining a solution that was sophisticated from the beginning. More importantly, the concept established a clear technical direction that Maranello decided to pursue rather than abandon after the initial difficulties.
Red Bull still working through problems with its RB22 solution
Red Bull’s situation has developed differently. The solution that appeared on the RB22 in Miami was not simply a reaction to Ferrari. Red Bull had also started the project during the previous season, although several weeks after Ferrari, and continued developing it as part of the RB22 design process.
Pierre Waché revealed: “The wing was supposed to debut at Suzuka, but then we had some problems and the debut was postponed to Miami.”
The issue that initially prevented its introduction was understood to be structural. It emerged from tests Red Bull carried out quickly outside the garages at Suzuka and required additional work before the component could be used. The differences between the two approaches have also been visible in the Red Bull reverse rear wing and Ferrari Macarena designs.
Not every problem was resolved immediately. After Max Verstappen encountered a second issue, Red Bull decided not to use the wing at Spa before bringing it back in Hungary. There were signs of progress in Budapest and no obvious failures, but Max Verstappen reiterated that he could feel something strange during the weekend.
The Dutch driver spoke about aerodynamic degradation from the RB22, effectively feeling the car lose downforce as the laps progressed. The situation appeared manageable during the race, but further work is clearly required, even though Red Bull had brought a reinforced specification to Budapest.
McLaren prepares its own reverse rear wing after the summer break
McLaren arrived later in the development process. Andrea Stella’s team belongs to the group that saw Ferrari’s concept operating on track and quickly increased its factory effort to investigate the same development direction.
The first McLaren prototype was ready for Austria, but problems were also encountered there, primarily involving the mechanism used to open and close the wing. The team’s first proper track test subsequently took place during a filming day at Silverstone, followed by another outing in FP1 at the Hungarian Grand Prix with Leonardo Fornaroli.
The plan is for McLaren to begin using the system during the second half of the championship. Exactly when that happens will depend heavily on the data gathered so far and the remaining factory work. That process is temporarily interrupted during the summer break because of Formula 1’s mandatory shutdown.
Ferrari’s head start is particularly significant when compared with the development difficulties experienced by both Red Bull and McLaren. The different interpretations and stages of progress were already apparent when Ferrari’s Macarena wing was compared with the McLaren and Red Bull concepts.
Mercedes appears to have abandoned its Macarena wing for the W17
Other teams are also working on solutions similar to those developed by Ferrari and Red Bull, but Mercedes does not currently appear to be among them. The Brackley team is understood to have discarded its own Macarena-style wing, apparently for budgetary reasons.
Ferrari, meanwhile, continues to enjoy an advantage in this particular area. The Scuderia has not suffered further reliability problems with the system and is increasingly focused on improving and refining an idea that remains both innovative and technically sophisticated.
The broader development programme is also continuing beyond aerodynamics. Ferrari is waiting for the opportunity to extract more power from the ADUO-2 engine development, with Maranello already carrying out reliability work ahead of its planned Monza power unit upgrade.
Rivals are copying, pursuing and studying Ferrari’s ideas, but Maranello has built an advantage that it can manage and, so far, has exploited effectively. The problems encountered by Red Bull and McLaren demonstrate that this type of rear wing is neither straightforward to develop nor simple to operate efficiently and safely on track. That is an important achievement for the technical organisation led by Loic Serra and the engineers who have spent months turning one of Ferrari’s boldest aerodynamic concepts into a dependable part of the SF-26.
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