That rotating rear wing concept currently making waves across the Formula 1 grid was sitting on the drawing board at Mercedes a bit more than a year ago, as Motorsport.com reports. While rivals have chased the design, Mercedes ultimately decided against it.
The rotating wing—where the main flap turns over when a car switches into straight-line mode—has become a very visible innovation in this current era of regulation. Ferrari was first to run the idea with it being coined the Macarena wing, and Red Bull brought its own version to Miami. McLaren, who we have seen testing its own, has said it will race one at some point in the future.
Mercedes is the only one of the top four teams yet to show an interest in such a design. Speaking on the latest episode of the team's own Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show, Mercedes deputy technical director Simone Resta explained why the team passed on it.
"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 said. "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."
"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. 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."
Mercedes has managed without the wing so far. The team leads the constructors' championship on 578 points, 134 clear of Ferrari, and Kimi Antonelli is 102 points ahead of team-mate George Russell as they go into the race week of the United States Grand Prix.
The focus is, however, on bringing the new upgrade to both cars after it was previously split between the drivers in Singapore. Antonelli used the new upgrade while Russell tested the older version. Team principal Toto Wolff has since confirmed the new components will be seen on both cars at the American race.
