Ted Kravitz is ‘thrilled’ by Red Bull’s Macarena rear wing in Miami despite what the team told him

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Red Bull have “excited” Ted Kravitz by unveiling their own Macarena rear wing during practice at the 2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix, after he noticed how much drag it reduced.

Every team except Aston Martin debuted updates during the sole practice on Friday at Hard Rock Stadium, with Ferrari leading the way with their 11 upgrades on the SF-26. Red Bull hit the track with seven updates, as they bid to address the problems they have with the RB22.

Red Bull are just sixth in the constructors’ standings ahead of this weekend’s Miami GP with only 16 points from the first three rounds. Drivers Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar both hit out at the RB22’s torrid balance issues at the Japanese GP last time out back in March, too.

The five-week break due to the cancellations of the rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia gave every team the chance to refine upgrades. Red Bull also used the break to hold a filming day where they trialled a Macarena rear wing, having copied the concept Ferrari first pioneered.

Ted Kravitz says Red Bull want to ‘downplay’ their Macarena rear wing unveiled in Miami

Verstappen tested Red Bull’s Macarena rear wing at Silverstone during the break, but seeing the update remain on the RB22 in Miami has fascinated Kravitz. He feels Red Bull have gone even further than Ferrari with their Macarena wing in an attempt to reduce the RB22’s drag.

READ MORE: How to watch the 2026 Miami GP, including the Sprint, plus weather forecast

Kravitz is now interested to see whether Red Bull can race their Macarena rear wing at the first attempt, unlike the Scuderia. Ferrari’s Macarena rear wing created balance problems when it was fitted on the SF-26 in practice in China, as well as sparking reliability concerns.

Kravitz said on Sky Sports F1 (01/05, 17:18): “Are you as excited as I am? I’m sure you are, by Red Bull out-Macarening the Macarena wing of the Ferrari?

“Well, we saw it in the spy pictures from their filming day that they had at Silverstone. We didn’t really believe it. But when I saw the size of the actuator that’s making that wing flip up and give the hugest drag reduction opportunity for that rear wing, opening much more than the Ferrari and even the Alpine, which, of course, leans backwards.

“When I saw the actuator, I got a little bit excited. Now, when you see it on track, I’m thoroughly thrilled about it. They actually downplay it, in saying that the revised wing attachments for the mechanism to deploy the straight line mode mechanism just allows more travel. Well, you can say that again! It allows one heck of an amount of travel.

“So, great stuff from Red Bull. Let’s see if they can do what Ferrari couldn’t do, and make it reliable, and get it to race and be on the car for the rest of the weekend. Looks good so far.”

Aston Martin are the only team without any upgrades at the Miami Grand Prix 👀 Predict the F1 pecking order after the race…

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While Red Bull have earned the spotlight in Florida after revealing their own version, Ferrari have a significantly revised Macarena rear wing in Miami, as well. Ferrari have invested a lot in refining their concept, which they also held a filming day at Monza to test over the break.

Ferrari caught the eye of the entire F1 world when they first debuted their Macarena wing during the second Bahrain pre-season test this February. But the wing used in Sakhir was a very raw version, which they have strived to refine in their quest to reduce the SF-26’s drag.

By reducing the drag of their cars by rotating the upper flaps on their rear wings when their drivers enter straight mode, Red Bull and Ferrari aim to increase their respective top speeds. Their reduced drag levels can also help their drivers to better manage their battery usage.