Red Bull must act on Macarena wing failure Spa

Max Verstappen’s dramatic crash at the British Grand Prix was not just bad luck. It was the second time in two consecutive weekends that his rear wing let him down at high speed. Red Bull must now decide whether to keep the wing or park it before Spa-Francorchamps.

What is the Red Bull Macarena wing?

Active aerodynamics, where front and rear wing flaps can be adjusted to reduce drag in designated straight-line mode (SLM) zones, were introduced this season to reduce demand on the engine’s limited reserves of electrical energy. Red Bull’s ‘Macarena wing’ sees the entire top plane of the rear wing rotate by roughly 180 degrees, rather than being pushed or pulled into a flatter angle. The design is believed to offer a useful performance advantage, but the actuation mechanism is more complicated.

Red Bull introduced the so-called ‘Macarena wing’ at the Miami Grand Prix weekend, similar to a concept already shown by Ferrari, but developed independently. The wing earned the Macarena tag because, in motion, the upper element swings through such an extreme arc it looks like the car is doing a dance move on the back straight.

Why the Macarena wing failure at Spa is a real danger

It was the second problem with Red Bull’s ‘Macarena’ wing in as many weekends, after Verstappen also blamed the device for his crash in qualifying at the Red Bull Ring. At Silverstone, Verstappen’s British Grand Prix unravelled with six laps remaining when his Red Bull spun into the gravel at Stowe, ending a race in which he had still been in contention for third place.

Both incidents were related to the rear wing not reattaching properly after a straight-line mode zone, although the two issues were different. It is in the nature of airflow that it doesn’t instantly reattach to the wing surfaces when the active aero is disengaged at the end of the SLM zone, which can induce a transient period of instability in the car as the downforce balance and tyre loadings change.

Red Bull has until July 17 to solve its issue, when F1 returns to the track at Spa. An ill-functioning rear wing is never ideal, but Spa presents a particular stress test with its high speeds. The Red Bull Macarena wing failure Spa risk is very real. This is one of the fastest circuits on the calendar.

Verstappen’s anger: ‘Fed up’ and almost hurt twice

Verstappen did not hold back after the race. “It’s super dangerous, because you can really hurt yourself, two times. I was lucky in Austria, I was lucky here, but that’s why you get really fed up with it,” he said.

His frustration after the race centred not only on the rear-wing fault that triggered the spin, but also on Red Bull’s decision not to change the engine or alter the set-up after he had raised major concerns following qualifying. He also questioned the decision not to change the car’s engine or set-up. “I wanted to start from the pitlane,” he said. “They were maybe confident to fix it [the engine’s deployment issues], which I was not.”

You can read more about the full context of that weekend in our piece on Verstappen’s power unit crisis and the pitlane start dilemma. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc won the British Grand Prix as the chaos unfolded around him.

Can Red Bull fix this before the Belgian GP?

Team boss Laurent Mekies was apologetic but honest after the race. He said: “Look, he’s right not to be happy. It is very unpleasant for drivers to be let down by the car in the high-speed corners in two consecutive races, albeit for two different reasons. And it is, in a much lower scale, also extremely unpleasant for us as a group to send our drivers to the gravel trap. So, he’s right to be unhappy.”

On the Red Bull Macarena wing failure Spa question specifically, Mekies did not rule out Red Bull reverting to its previous, start-of-season rear wing concept. “The answer is that we will do whatever is necessary to be on the safe side,” he insisted.

He added: “We have raced quite a few races with that concept now. It’s too early in the analysis to establish whether it’s an issue with the concept or something else. But we are going, for sure, to leave no stone unturned when it comes to it and we have all the options open.”

You can follow the official Red Bull Racing website for the team’s technical updates as they investigate this issue ahead of Spa.

What this means for Verstappen’s Red Bull future

According to Verstappen, Red Bull is currently dealing with far too many problems in 2026, ranging from the power unit to the chassis and the rear wing. The Macarena wing failure is just one part of a much bigger picture.

There are no clear alternatives for 2027, with Mercedes’ line-up thought to be locked down. On whether his Silverstone experience impacted his future with Red Bull, Verstappen said: “Ah, I’m not going to say anything about that. It’s not fair to say anything about that also right now.”

After Max Verstappen’s crash, caused by the same technical failure that struck him during the Austrian Grand Prix, the Dutchman made it clear he has reached his limit, calling the situation “simply dangerous.” From our position at RNT‑Motorsports, we observed Jos Verstappen and Max’s manager, Raymond Vermeulen, in an intense discussion with Laurent Mekies, their body language showing clear uncertainty and a sense of what now?

The question hanging in the air was whether Red Bull can still be trusted or whether it is time to consider serious alternatives. Max himself refused to comment and said he wanted to go home, yet we noted he only flew out late on Sunday evening, suggesting, though we cannot confirm, that further conversations likely took place. We are currently investigating who was involved in those discussions and whether they were held with Red Bull or with other parties in the paddock.

For Red Bull, this is a critical moment. The Red Bull Macarena wing failure Spa story will define whether the team has the courage to step back from an idea that has real performance potential but has already put their star driver at serious risk. Twice. The clock is ticking.  For more on what happened at Silverstone this weekend, read our full breakdown of Verstappen urging urgent Red Bull changes.