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Red Bull has approached the FIA requesting a ban on the so-called macarena rear wing, a move Formula Technica reports is a direct political strike at Ferrari following Max Verstappen's crashes in Austria and Silverstone. Verstappen's incidents, both linked to rear wing failures, have prompted the Milton Keynes squad to lobby for regulatory intervention against a design Ferrari has mastered while Red Bull continues to struggle with reliability. The Italian outlet suggests the FIA is unlikely to grant the request, leaving Red Bull exposed in a technical battle it initiated but cannot win.
Active aero freedoms expose design divergence
Formula 1's reintroduction of active aerodynamics this season has given teams unprecedented latitude in designing adjustable rear wings. Ferrari surprised the paddock during pre-season testing in Bahrain by unveiling a configuration in which the upper element rotates fully, a mechanism quickly nicknamed the macarena wing. Red Bull adopted a similar concept, but the execution has proven problematic. Verstappen's qualifying crash in Austria and race incident at Silverstone both stemmed from rear wing malfunctions, raising questions about the structural integrity of Red Bull's interpretation of the design.
Red Bull's gambit targets Ferrari's advantage
According to Formula Technica, Red Bull has formally petitioned the FIA to prohibit the macarena wing configuration. The request is transparently aimed at Ferrari, which has operated the system without incident and extracted performance gains that Red Bull cannot replicate. The Austrian team's logic, the outlet claims, follows a familiar pattern: if we cannot benefit, no one should. Red Bull has been working with the FIA on an investigation into Verstappen's failures, but this latest move extends beyond technical consultation into the realm of regulatory lobbying. Ferrari, for its part, remains composed, confident the governing body will not intervene to ban a legal innovation simply because one competitor cannot make it work.
FIA unlikely to intervene
Formula Technica assesses that the FIA will reject Red Bull's appeal. The regulations permit the rotating upper element, and Ferrari's flawless implementation demonstrates the concept is viable when executed correctly. Banning a design because one team has struggled with it would set a troubling precedent, particularly when no safety directive has been issued and the failures appear isolated to Red Bull's package. The governing body has observed Red Bull's investigation but has shown no indication it considers the macarena wing inherently unsafe or illegal.
Ferrari is expected to race the configuration again this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, while Red Bull's plans remain unclear. Verstappen's championship deficit means the team cannot afford further mechanical failures, but retreating to a conventional wing would cede a performance advantage it can ill afford to surrender. The episode underscores Red Bull's current predicament: outflanked on development, it has turned to the rulebook rather than the drawing board.
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