The Mercedes Formula 1 team evaluated the rotating rear wing concept—popularly dubbed the Macarena wing—long before rival outfits debuted it on the race track, according to deputy technical director Simone Resta. Despite examining the design in great detail on their drawing boards over a year ago, the Brackley-based squad deliberately chose not to pursue its development.
The rotating wing mechanism, designed to flip its main flap over when the car enters straight-line mode to shed aerodynamic drag, has emerged as one of the most visible innovations of the current regulatory era. Ferrari was the very first team to run the concept on track, with Red Bull subsequently introducing its iteration in Miami, while McLaren has also tested the system with plans to race it in the future.
Among the top four constructor contenders, Mercedes remains the sole team that has yet to field such a design in competitive sessions. Speaking on a recent episode of the team's official Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show, Simone Resta shed light on the exact engineering rationale behind rejecting the concept during its initial evaluation phase.
"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 stated. "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."
Resta emphasized that the aerodynamic compromise did not align with the team's balance requirements at the time, making the heavy investment in component manufacturing and software development unjustified. However, the technical chief noted that the door remains open for future re-evaluations as part of their ongoing iterative development cycle in pursuit of optimal lap-time performance.
"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," Resta explained.
"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," he concluded. This pragmatic philosophy has allowed title contenders like Kimi Antonelli and teammate George Russell to maintain strong championship campaigns without desperately rushing to copy rival aerodynamic trends.
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