- Mercedes deputy technical director Simone Resta has revealed the team studied the “Macarena” rotating rear wing concept over a year ago but decided it was not the best overall compromise.
- Mercedes leads the 2025 Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship with 578 points — 134 ahead of Ferrari — without ever deploying the innovative wing design.
- Kimi Antonelli leads teammate George Russell by 102 points heading into the United States Grand Prix, where both cars will run the latest Mercedes upgrade package.
Mercedes Studied the Macarena Wing Over a Year Ago — Then Walked Away
Mercedes has been one of the most conspicuous absentees from the growing list of Formula 1 teams experimenting with the so-called “Macarena” rear wing, the rotating flap design that flips its main element when a car transitions to straight-line running to minimize drag. Ferrari pioneered the concept and gave it its nickname, Red Bull debuted its own interpretation at the Miami Grand Prix, and McLaren has confirmed it will race a version at some point during the season. Yet Mercedes has remained notably silent — until now.
Appearing on the team’s own Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show, deputy technical director Simone Resta offered the first public insight into Mercedes’ internal deliberations, confirming that the Silver Arrows were not simply unaware of the concept or slow to react to it. Quite the opposite.
Resta Breaks Silence: Mercedes Had the Wing on Its Drawing Board
“I am probably going to say something we have not shared before: we had this kind of wing on our drawing board a bit more than a year ago,” Resta said. “We’ve been evaluating this concept quite in detail and it’s clearly offering a benefit in drag reduction, but it’s also coming with a reduction of downforce in every session you operate the Open SM.
“And it’s something that we evaluated it. It’s something that we never felt in balance to be the best overall compromise, let’s say, so worth, let’s say, investing in terms of development and also making components, etc. But it doesn’t mean that the same conclusion is valid forever and we might revisit our view and our position going forward.
“So we are, of course, humble, checking every solution that is out there, evaluate if there’s anything interesting for us to pick up and keep this iterative process going forward.”
Resta’s comments represent the most detailed explanation any senior Mercedes technical figure has offered regarding the team’s stance on the Macarena wing. The core trade-off he identified — meaningful drag reduction on straights offset by a downforce penalty whenever the system is deployed — evidently failed to clear Mercedes’ internal threshold for development investment. That calculation, he was careful to note, is not necessarily permanent.
Leading the Championship Without It
Crucially, Mercedes’ decision to pass on the Macarena wing has not cost the team competitively — at least not yet. Mercedes leads the Constructors’ Championship on 578 points, a commanding 134-point margin over Ferrari in second place. Kimi Antonelli has emerged as the team’s standout performer, holding a 102-point advantage over teammate George Russell in the Drivers’ standings as the paddock prepares for race week at the United States Grand Prix.
The immediate storyline in Austin, however, centers on a different technical matter. Mercedes split its latest upgrade package between the two drivers in Singapore — Antonelli running the new components while Russell evaluated the older specification — a scenario that generated considerable attention. Team principal Toto Wolff has since confirmed that both cars will carry the new upgrade at the American race, ending the split-specification arrangement.
Why This Matters
The Macarena wing has rapidly become one of the defining aerodynamic flashpoints of the current regulatory era. Its spread across Ferrari, Red Bull, and potentially McLaren raises legitimate questions about whether teams that have not adopted it are operating at a structural aerodynamic disadvantage, particularly at circuits with long straights where drag reduction translates most directly into lap time. Mercedes’ willingness to openly discuss its evaluation — and to leave the door open for a future reversal — signals that the team’s engineering hierarchy is monitoring developments closely rather than dismissing the concept outright. With a significant regulation change on the horizon, the calculus around which innovations are worth committing to before those rules reset will only grow more complex.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Macarena rear wing and why is it significant in Formula 1?
The Macarena rear wing is a rotating rear wing design in which the main flap physically flips over when a car enters straight-line running, dramatically reducing aerodynamic drag. Ferrari introduced and popularized the concept in the current regulatory cycle, and its name derives from the motion of the flipping element. Red Bull has since introduced its own version, and McLaren has confirmed plans to race one. The innovation is significant because it offers a potential performance advantage on circuits where drag reduction on straights is particularly valuable.
Why did Mercedes decide not to develop the Macarena wing?
According to Simone Resta, Mercedes evaluated the concept in detail more than a year ago and concluded that while the wing provides genuine drag reduction benefits, it also produces a downforce loss every time the system is activated. Mercedes determined that this trade-off did not represent the best overall performance compromise, and chose to invest its development resources elsewhere. Resta emphasized, however, that this conclusion could change as the competitive picture evolves.
What is the latest Mercedes upgrade and which drivers will use it at the United States Grand Prix?
Mercedes introduced a new upgrade package at the Singapore Grand Prix but ran it in a split configuration, with Kimi Antonelli using the new specification and George Russell evaluating the older version. Team principal Toto Wolff has confirmed that both drivers will race the new upgrade at the United States Grand Prix, bringing the team back to a unified specification.
