Red Bull unveils Macarena wing in Miami

Red Bull arrived in Miami with a heavily revised RB22 led by its first race-weekend use of a rotating rear wing, as the team tries to fix the unpredictability that has defined its troubled start to the 2026 Formula 1 season.

The new rear wing, quickly dubbed the “Macarena wing” in the paddock, is the headline item in a seven-part upgrade package that also includes changes to the front wing, front corner, sidepods, engine cover, floor and rear corner. It is Red Bull’s answer to the rotating concept Ferrari first brought into view earlier this season, but the Milton Keynes team has pushed back firmly against any suggestion that it simply copied its rival.

Laurent Mekies, Red Bull team principal, told Sky Sports F1 in Miami: “As much as you will not believe me anyway, I have to say, in fairness to the guys, they came up with that concept far, far before we hit the track and we saw what everybody else had been doing.” He added that Red Bull had “bigger issues to solve before to be able to bring that to the track.”

Red Bull made the same point elsewhere, saying the wing had “not been copied from or inspired by Ferrari” and that its first ideas had been submitted to the FIA last year, shortly after Ferrari’s. The team’s version is also described as working differently. Ferrari’s concept has been said to rotate up to 270 degrees, while Red Bull’s appears to rotate about 160 degrees in the opposite direction. In its FIA update submission, Red Bull said: “To allow more travel, the mechanism and attachments to the elements have been revised necessitating a subtle altering of the third profile near centreline.”

That matters because the rear wing is only one part of a much broader aerodynamic rethink. Red Bull’s early-season problem was not just a lack of outright pace but a car that both Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar struggled to trust. The Miami package is aimed at changing where and how the RB22 generates load, especially through the floor and bodywork, to make its behavior more consistent in corners.

At the front, Red Bull revised the wing and front-corner inlets. The team said those changes are designed “to draw inlet air from the highest pressure source available and exit with minimal blockage.” The front wing itself also gained a much larger outer diveplane than before, part of a wider effort to better manage front-wheel wake and push turbulence away from the car.

Further back, the sidepod and floor concept has been reworked far more aggressively. Red Bull revised the bib geometry and forward floor structure, then blended that into new sidepods and engine cover bodywork. The team said the package is intended to extract “more load whilst maintaining the downstream flow stability.” Multiple reports described the sidepod shape as markedly steeper and the airflow path to the rear as more deeply channeled, reflecting a clear attempt to cure the shifting balance that made the RB22 difficult to drive in the opening races.

The redesign also comes with a weight-saving element. Insiders said Red Bull started the season around 12kg above the 768kg minimum weight, and Miami’s changes are expected to cut that excess by roughly half, with another step planned later in the European season.

Mekies has been careful not to oversell what one package can do. In comments reported ahead of the weekend, he warned fans to “not expect miracles” and said: “We do not expect to have solved all our issues in one go, however we certainly aim to give Max and Isack a car they will feel more comfortable to push with.”

Friday’s first signs suggested progress rather than proof. Verstappen was reported to be happier in the upgraded car, and separate reports said he called the package “a very positive step forward” after his first laps. Mekies said the initial feedback was encouraging but stressed Red Bull’s focus was on correlation after the five-week break.

“Honestly, we only look at ourselves during that session,” he said. After “all the big changes on the car,” Red Bull needed to “assess us against us.” He said there were “encouraging signs” and that “it seems to be a step in the correct direction for now.”

That is the real significance of Miami for Red Bull. The rotating rear wing may be the part everyone noticed first, but the more important question is whether this package finally gives Verstappen and Hadjar a more predictable RB22 and puts Red Bull back into the fight with Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren.