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Red Bull Shelves Rotating Rear Wing Following Verstappen Crashes
Following two high-speed crashes for Max Verstappen, Red Bull has decided to temporarily shelf its controversial 'rotating' rear wing ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.
By Ruben Smit - 2026-07-16T11:49:55.000Z - 2 min read
Red Bull has decided to leave its innovative, rotating rear wing on the sidelines this weekend at Spa. The move follows two crashes for Max Verstappen that caused plenty of debate during recent races. The Dutchman himself described the issues as "super dangerous".
The wing, which rotates completely on high-speed straights to reduce drag, appeared to be the root cause of the trouble. In particular, the transition from 'straight-line' mode to 'cornering' mode proved unpredictable, leading to incidents in qualifying in Austria and during the race in Great Britain. Red Bull's Laurent Mekies had already promised a thorough analysis after Silverstone.
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has now confirmed that the team identified an issue with the wing following extensive testing. For the Belgian Grand Prix, the team will revert to a conventional rear wing design. Following modifications, a future return for the rotating wing has not been ruled out.
The rotating rear wing is a design introduced this season by Red Bull and Ferrari, aimed at delivering a significantly greater reduction in drag. Ferrari debuted a similar version in Miami and has run it ever since without reported issues. McLaren, which also had plans for such a wing, opted against testing it in Austria and is introducing a different, non-rotating new rear wing at Spa.