Following a series of unsettling incidents, Red Bull has decided to scrap its rotating rear wing—a design inspired by Ferrari's 'Macarena' wing—and revert to the standard arrangement used earlier in the season. The decision comes after Max Verstappen suffered race-ending spins and crashes in both Austria and Silverstone, which the team concluded were directly linked to the unstable behavior of the new wing.

Team boss Laurent Mekies confirmed that a thorough review was conducted after the British Grand Prix. With the high-speed corners of Spa-Francorchamps requiring absolute driver confidence, the team opted for the safer, proven specification. Verstappen was blunt about the change during Thursday's press conference: “I think it’s quite obvious, no? So yeah, we’ll go back to the old one and then see whenever the latest, or new one, is ready again to be used for us.”

While the change is visually striking, teammate Isack Hadjar suggested that the performance loss is minimal. “Visually it's obviously a big change, but in the car it's not... It's less than you might think,” Hadjar explained, adding that the team remains competitive despite the less impressive wing. Interestingly, Hadjar noted that he had not suffered any crashes with the rotating wing, attributing Verstappen's mishaps to luck: “I guess I got quite lucky for two rounds in a row... he took it for me, unfortunately.”

Beyond the rear wing, Red Bull is grappling with a broader set of performance issues. Hadjar highlighted struggles with brake overheating and tire wear at the Red Bull Ring, as well as a general lack of competitiveness at Silverstone. He noted that while the car is "healthy," it is currently a "tiny bit slower everywhere" compared to its rivals. The team is also focusing on improving race starts, an area where they have struggled throughout the 2026 season.