Mercedes leads Monaco rear-wing development push

Mercedes and Red Bull are among the Formula 1 teams that have reworked the rear-wing actuator area for Monaco, using the space left redundant by the weekend’s fixed-wing configuration to add extra winglets and chase more downforce on the low-speed street circuit.

For the first time this season, teams cannot run moveable front or rear wing straight modes at Monaco, so the flap configuration remains fixed throughout the weekend. That has changed the job of the small legality box above the rear wing, which would normally house the DRS or active-aero actuator. With that mechanism no longer needed in the same way, teams have been able to turn the area into usable aerodynamic bodywork.

That matters more at Monaco than almost anywhere else. The circuit’s low cornering speeds and short straights mean drag is much less of a limiting factor, so teams can afford to run their biggest wing levels without paying a major penalty on the straights. The aim is simple: add rear load where traction and low-speed grip matter most. The winglets may also help the rear wing work harder by creating upwash that expands the low-pressure field behind the car, and if that flow interacts with the diffuser it can increase suction underneath the car.

Mercedes has taken the most aggressive route. Its design uses a mainplane-mounted pylon carrying a trio of cascading winglets, with another winglet above that, then two further banks of two winglets behind, with the last bank mounted to the upper rear-wing flap. The final winglet in each cascade also carries a Gurney flap, making it the most elaborate interpretation of the available space.

Red Bull’s solution is far simpler but still clearly visible, with two winglets enclosed by endplates added to its standard actuator housing. Racing Bulls has gone in a different direction again, reshaping the housing into a single tab intended to extend the working chord of the central rear-wing section, also with a trailing-edge Gurney flap.

Not every team has interpreted the opening in the rules the same way. Audi has fitted two cascading elements on the upper rear-wing plane, attached to a mainplane-mounted pylon in a layout described as an extra tab. Cadillac has adopted a similar concept after removing the actuator section entirely. Ferrari, by contrast, was reported not to be exploiting this area ahead of the weekend.

The result is that a rule change that might have been expected to simplify Monaco setups has instead triggered one of the most visible development contests in the paddock, with Mercedes setting the most extreme benchmark in a part of the car that could make a meaningful difference in the slow-speed fight for grip.