Oscar Piastri confirms McLaren's experimental wing test

McLaren is set to bolt a fresh, experimental rear wing onto their MCL40 for Friday practice at the Red Bull Ring. While the sight of new aero parts always gets the blood pumping, Oscar Piastri has tempered expectations, confirming it is strictly a testing exercise and will not be used in the race.

Technical Director of Applied Engineering Neil Houldey noted that the team is focusing on minor detail updates around the rear corners alongside this wing trial. As the squad pushes to close the gap to the front of the field, they are digging into every possible lap time opportunity. Piastri, however, is clear-eyed about the challenge ahead, noting that while rival teams like Ferrari and Red Bull have already debuted bold, rotating rear wing designs, his team is taking a measured approach.

Coming off a difficult fifth-place finish at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, Piastri admits he is focused on his own recovery. He has spent time analyzing why he struggled in Spain and is determined to avoid a repeat performance in Austria. Even so, he acknowledges that Mercedes remains the benchmark and that catching the leaders on pure pace alone will be a significant stretch this weekend.