FIA Launches Safety Probe into Ferrari and Red Bull Rotating Rear Wings

The FIA has formally intervened in the growing controversy over rotating rear wings, demanding technical answers from Ferrari and Red Bull after two failures on Max Verstappen’s car in Austria and Silverstone. The governing body wants to determine whether the innovative designs, dubbed the “Macarena wing,” fully satisfy existing safety requirements.

Why it matters:

The investigation exposes a tense gap between aggressive innovation and driver safety in Formula 1’s active aerodynamics era. Verstappen labeled the failures “super dangerous,” and with McLaren already developing a similar system, the FIA’s findings will likely influence how aggressively rival teams pursue drag-reducing technology for the remainder of the season.

The details:

• Split fortunes: Ferrari has run its version since Miami without reported trouble, while Red Bull’s independently developed system—rotating in the opposite direction with a more aggressive opening—has failed twice on Verstappen’s car.
• Regulatory gray area: Rules require the rear-wing flap to transition within 400 milliseconds from command to sensor confirmation, but this does not guarantee instantaneous airflow stabilization, a gap now under FIA scrutiny.
• Internal action: Red Bull principal Laurent Mekies confirmed a full review is underway, stating the team will do “whatever is necessary” to eliminate any repeat risk.

What's next:

The FIA will assess whether current regulations need tightening before allowing the concept to continue unchecked. Red Bull is weighing whether to run the wing at Spa-Francorchamps, where another failure would be catastrophic. McLaren, which had considered introducing its own design by Belgium, may now wait for clearer regulatory guidance before debuting the technology.