Piastri reveals initial plan for McLaren’s new ‘experimental’ rear wing

McLaren are set to run an “experimental” rear wing during Friday practice at the Austrian Grand Prix, with Oscar Piastri confirming that it will only be tested – and not raced – at this stage.

In McLaren’s pre-weekend preview, Technical Director of Applied Engineering, Neil Houldey, pointed to several upgrades for the MCL40, as the reigning World Champions push to close the gap to the front of the field under F1’s new era.

“For this event, we’ve focused on minor detail updates around the car’s rear corners, as well as an experimental rear wing that will run throughout Friday’s sessions,” he explained.

“While the overall package is lighter than some of our recent updates, these developments are all part of our season-long development pathway, and we’re continuing to look for every lap time opportunity wherever we can.”

Asked during Thursday’s press conference if the rear wing will be raced at the Red Bull Ring, Piastri confirmed: “No, we won’t race it. I believe it’s on Lando [Norris’] car tomorrow. It’s to test out; it’s not ready to race at the moment.

“Obviously we’ve seen some of the creative solutions [from rival teams], and they don’t come without their challenges, clearly. It won’t be raced, but useful to try it out.”

Piastri’s comments come after both Ferrari and Red Bull caught the eye with rotating rear wing designs aimed at maximising performance under F1’s 2026 regulations, which feature active aerodynamics.

Ferrari initially debuted their ‘flip-flop’ rear wing during pre-season testing in Bahrain, tested it again in China and then ran it throughout the Miami Grand Prix weekend, where Red Bull also rolled out a striking creation.

Those experiments aside, Piastri is focused on getting his 2026 season back on track, after a tricky Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix that saw him qualify back in seventh and finish the race in a distant fifth position.

“I think on a personal level, yes, I’ve got a good understanding,” he said, when asked about learning lessons from Barcelona, and enjoying a stronger weekend in Austria.

“We’ve done a lot of homework as to why the race in Barcelona was such a struggle for me. I think we’ve got a good idea why, and a good plan on how to not repeat that.

“I think Ferrari took a good step forward in Barcelona, Mercedes are still the benchmark as well, and I’m hearing along the grapevine Red Bull have got some big things [coming] as well.

“It’s not going to be easy for us. Yes, it has been a good track for us in the past, but there’s no illusion for us that we’re suddenly going to be amazing here and the team to beat – we’re definitely not going to be.

“Hopefully we can get close and kind of be in the position that we have been in at certain points, where we can capitalise on dramas for others, but I think to be able to do it on merit or pure pace is going to be a bit of a stretch. I’d like to be happily surprised.”