Ferrari and Red Bull Face FIA Safety Scrutiny Over 'Macarena' Rear Wings

The FIA is actively discussing safety concerns with Ferrari and Red Bull over their unconventional 'Macarena' revolving rear wings after Max Verstappen's crash at the British Grand Prix. It marked a second wing-related failure in as many races for the Red Bull driver, moving the innovative design squarely into the governing body's crosshairs.

Why it matters:

Verstappen's incidents in Austria and at Silverstone have elevated the issue from engineering curiosity to genuine safety worry. The FIA's intervention suggests these aggressive aerodynamic solutions, which see upper flaps rotate as much as 225 degrees, may require tighter oversight or could face prohibition if the risks are deemed too high.

The details:

• Verstappen's Silverstone spin followed an airflow reattachment issue in Austria, with the driver warning the situation was "super dangerous" after two close calls.
• Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said the team will do "whatever is necessary" and has not ruled out reverting to a more conventional wing for Spa if the revolving concept cannot be made fault-proof.
• Unlike the rest of the grid, the Ferrari and Red Bull designs rotate their upper flaps dramatically to reduce drag and can induce slight lift to lower rolling resistance.
• Although both teams received FIA pre-approval, recent events have triggered a fresh review of whether the wings reliably transition within the mandated 400-millisecond window.
• Current rules require that any system failure default to corner mode, though Verstappen's experiences suggest real-world behavior may not be so straightforward.

What's next:

The FIA must now decide whether additional safety measures are sufficient or if the revolving wing concept should be outlawed entirely. While Ferrari has used its version since Miami without major trouble, Red Bull's repeated failures have exposed potential vulnerabilities. The governing body can ban unsafe components with immediate effect, meaning these high-risk solutions could be stamped out before rivals like McLaren pursue similar designs.