Ferrari is setting a trend with several solutions, including the flipped rear wing, also known as Macarena. To date, Mercedes is the only top team not to have brought its own version to the track, but that does not mean it was not tested in Brackley. In an exclusive interview granted to FormulaPassion.it, Simone Resta, Mercedes’ deputy technical director, revealed that the team had conducted experiments with a flipped wing as early as 2025.
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The Mercedes Macarena project
“Ferrari introduced it right at the start of the season,” Resta’s comment on the Macarena wing reveals. “We also evaluated it last year, but for a series of technical reasons we chose not to introduce it, because we considered another approach better. However, this does not mean that things cannot be reconsidered for the future. We are always open to reviewing our decisions.”
The rear wing is not the only area where Mercedes and Ferrari have made different choices regarding active aerodynamics. At the front, for example, the Brackley team chose to anchor the nose pylons to the second profile, limiting the wing opening to only the last element. “This comes from the development process we have had from the beginning,” explains Resta. “We do not think we have a particular weakness in the use of the front wing. It is clear that the team, especially the aerodynamic department, has evaluated and will continue to evaluate both configurations. At the moment we have focused on one, but it is not that we did it blindly without considering the other. We evaluated both steps.
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The challenge with Ferrari
At Mercedes, however, they see Ferrari as a credible rival for the championship, also considering the development pace of the Maranello team. Resta continues: “They are doing well. Clearly they are bringing many developments to the track, which is interesting also in relation to the Budget Cap. It is certainly a challenge for the season and the fact that it is getting closer makes it more interesting. We want to challenge them on the track.”
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