Will it turn things around? McLaren announces ‘experimental’ rear wing

The Formula 1 development race enters its next phase in Austria. Several teams will be bringing new parts with them. Ahead of the race in Spielberg, McLaren has now revealed that the MCL40 will feature an ‘experimental’ rear wing – at least for the practice sessions.

McLaren looking strong at Spielberg

Neil Houldey, the team’s Technical Director for Applied Engineering, explained ahead of the race at the Red Bull Ring: “Austria has always been a strong circuit for us in the past. Although we take nothing for granted in such a closely contested field, we are optimistic that the characteristics of the car and the driver will once again suit the circuit well and put us in contention for the top places.” In the World Championship standings, the Woking-based team is in third place. In Barcelona, Lando Norris finished third and Oscar Piastri fifth. At the Red Bull Ring, McLaren has secured seven wins and 20 podium finishes.

Experimental rear wing?

Houldey has announced exciting new developments for Spielberg, namely a new, ‘experimental’ rear wing. The engineer said: “We are always striving to make improvements that boost the car’s performance and lap times. For this race, we have focused on minor detail adjustments to the rear sections of the car, as well as an experimental rear wing that will be used throughout Friday’s sessions.” So the plan is to test it during the two practice sessions first. The rear wings are, in some cases, genuinely exciting under this year’s new regulations – as is well known, Ferrari introduced a swivelling rear wing.

Houldey: “Even though the overall package is less extensive than some of our recent updates, these developments are all part of our in-season development process, and we continue to look for opportunities everywhere to improve lap times.” At this stage of the season, the teams are rolling out a whole host of upgrades which, in the early stages of the 2026 regulations, can lead to significant performance gains – provided they work.

McLaren prepares for rain

Ahead of the race at Spielberg, Houldey has issued a warning about the weather: “We’re also preparing for possible wet conditions – it would be one of the first times this season that we’ve run the car in such conditions. That means a steep learning curve, particularly in terms of adjustments to energy management and power delivery in the wet, but it’s an opportunity we’ll seize to optimise every aspect of the car and maximise our performance in all conditions.” A wet race? Let’s wait and see. As things stand midweek, dry, hot conditions are forecast for the Grand Prix weekend. A thunderstorm is currently forecast for Monday. However, as we know, the weather can change quickly in the mountains.

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