McLaren has decided not to use its innovative rear wing, the H-Wing, at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix. The concept, first introduced in Hungary and tested in Zandvoort, will return in Baku at the end of September. This decision was made as the team aims to allocate production resources efficiently, given the new Madrid circuit's high-downforce nature on its debut.
The H-Wing is McLaren's interpretation of a rear wing that rotates 180 degrees between Corner Mode and Straight Mode, mimicking a concept pioneered by Ferrari during winter testing. After a delayed rollout, the Woking-based team finally debuted the wing in practice at the Hungarian GP, tested it again in Zandvoort, and last competed with it at the Italian GP last weekend. The system proved to reduce drag on straights, offering a significant lap time benefit, especially at Monza.
However, for the Spanish GP at the Madring circuit, which demands high downforce, McLaren will use the new rear wing introduced in Zandvoort, featuring striking sculpted endplates. The team chose not to produce a version of the Zandvoort wing with the H-Wing concept because it focused on fast-tracking the H-Wing for Monza, where drag reduction yields a bigger advantage.
The H-Wing gets its name from the letter H in the Etihad logo on the rear of the MCL40's rear wing. The letter H runs along the centreline where the H-Wing's straight mode actuator is positioned. This follows the team's tradition with the legendary F-duct in 2010, named after the F in the Vodafone logo on the nose where the duct was installed.
McLaren heads into the Madrid weekend as one of the favourites to win on the challenging 5.4km circuit, following two wins for Lando Norris at the twisty Hungaroring and Zandvoort. The return of the H-Wing in Baku is expected to provide an advantage at the high-speed street circuit, which also emphasises top speed and efficiency.
Meanwhile, the team plans to produce another iteration of its higher downforce wing later, built from the ground up to incorporate the rotating rear wing actuator. This demonstrates McLaren's commitment to continuously developing aerodynamic solutions to maintain competitive performance for the rest of the season.
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