McLaren has decided not to take the rotating rear wing known as the ‘H-Wing’ or ‘Macarena’ to the Spanish Grand Prix in Formula 1. The device, used by the British team for the first time in a race at Monza, is expected to return to the car at the Azerbaijan GP.
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This decision is related to how the team intends to allocate its development resources. According to Motorsport.com, McLaren will continue focusing the H-wing concept on low-drag configurations, leaving the adaptation of the system to higher downforce versions for another time.
The team’s project was developed after Ferrari introduced the concept during pre-season testing in Barcelona. The solution allows the rear wing to rotate 180 degrees between Straight Mode and Corner Mode, and McLaren experienced a delay before putting its own version into operation.
The part initially appeared in practice at the Hungarian GP, was tested again in Zandvoort, and was finally used in competition at the Italian GP. The system worked as expected, helping to reduce drag on the straights.
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For the Madrid round, McLaren will use the new rear wing introduced in Zandvoort, with more elaborately designed side plates. The team chose not to produce a version of this component incorporating the rotating mechanism, directing its efforts to develop the lower drag solution used in Monza.
The same concept is expected to reappear on the street circuit in Baku at the end of September, where top speed and efficiency will be more important. Later on, McLaren intends to manufacture a new higher downforce wing already designed from the start to receive the rotating component.
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