McLaren make definitive verdict on Macarena rear wing after Hungarian Grand Prix test

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McLaren debuted their version of a Macarena rear wing during practice at the 2026 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix on Friday and have now decided whether it is ready to be raced.

The Woking outfit are the third team to bring a Macarena rear wing to a track this year, after Ferrari led the way back in pre-season testing before Red Bull joined the party in Miami. The three outfits have also designed their own concepts for a wing where the upper flap rotates.

Ferrari first revealed their Macarena wing during testing in Bahrain, but they only felt it was ready to be raced at the Miami Grand Prix. Hard Rock Stadium was also the site of the debut of Red Bull’s Macarena rear wing, which boasts the biggest slot gap out of the three designs.

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McLaren ‘approve’ their Macarena rear wing to make its race debut at Monza

McLaren’s Macarena rear wing is most similar to Ferrari’s design, but they have followed the philosophy that Red Bull chose by adapting a more traditional mechanism from the DRS-era. Ferrari managed to integrate the mechanism for their Macarena rear wing in the end plates.

READ MORE: How to watch the 2026 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix, plus the weather forecast

Reserve driver Leonardo Fornaroli had the honour of track-testing McLaren’s Macarena rear wing during FP1 at the Hungarian GP on Friday. The reigning F2 champion stood in for Oscar Piastri, while defending F1 champion Lando Norris used a standard rear wing on his MCL40.

McLaren opted to conduct split testing in FP1 as they never intended to race the Macarena rear wing at the Hungarian GP. And Motorsport.com notes that while that remains the case, McLaren have ‘approved’ their Macarena rear wing to be raced later this season at Monza.

It was always McLaren’s intention to verify on circuit in Hungary whether their concept for a Macarena rear wing works, before bringing it back for the Italian Grand Prix in September. It was always planned to be raced at Monza instead of at the Hungaroring, given the former is a high-speed, low-downforce track and the latter boasts the exact opposite characteristics.

McLaren have worked at lightning speed to design a Macarena rear wing after noticing how much drag Ferrari are able to lose with their similar concept. Even back in pre-season, it was reported that Lewis Hamilton gained 10km/h (6mph) by using Ferrari’s Macarena rear wing.

Drag has been a major problem for McLaren with the MCL40 this season, which only serves to hold Norris and Piastri back on high-speed tracks and those with long straights. Monza’s demands would only expose McLaren’s issues, hence their decision to develop a Macarena rear wing in time for it to be raced for the first time come the Italian GP on September 4-6.

Norris and Piastri are expected to continue running McLaren’s standard rear wing this week at the Hungarian GP and also at the Dutch Grand Prix. Zandvoort stages the first round back after the summer break on August 21-23, before F1 then heads to Monza for the Italian GP.