Red Bull and Ferrari ‘Macarena’ F1 wings face FIA scrutiny after Max Verstappen crashes

Red Bull and Ferrari’s rotating rear wings face a safety probe from Formula 1’s governing body the FIA after recent crashes for Max Verstappen, Crash.net has learned. 

The so-called ‘Macarena’ rear wings run by both Red Bull and Ferrari are set to come under scrutiny from the FIA in the interests of safety after rear wing failures caused Verstappen to crash at two consecutive grands prix. 

Verstappen was chasing Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari when he lost control of his RB22 and spun into the gravel at high-speed on lap 48, causing a late safety car. 

This followed a high-speed crash in Austrian Grand Prix qualifying a week before. Both incidents occurred when Verstappen’s rear wing failed to close properly despite straight-line mode being switched off on entry to the respective corners. 

The four-time world champion repeatedly swore over team radio about the accident at Silverstone and lashed out at his “super-dangerous” Red Bull. 

"It's super-dangerous because you can really hurt yourself two times,” Verstappen said. "I was lucky in Austria, I was lucky here. That's why you get really fed up with it.”

Why the FIA is getting involved 

As a result of the sae safety concerns prompted by Verstappen’s crashes, the FIA is in discussions with both Red Bull and Ferrari over the designs of their unique rear wings. 

Given safety is always the priority for motor racing’s governing body, it is no surprise to see the FIA getting involved. 

Verstappen revealed that the specific failures of the two incidents were not the same. 

"Different fault but same outcome," he explained. "While turning in, the rear wing is not fully attaching and you lose a lot of downforce and just spin off.”

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies vowed to “leave no stone unturned” as his side looks to identify the problem that caused Verstappen’s latest crash. 

"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, let it be for two different reasons,” Mekies said. 

"And it is in a much lower scale, also extremely unpleasant for us as a group to send our drivers to the gravel trap. I have no doubt that as a team we will put in place what is necessary for that not to happen again, even if we failed to do that today.

"And we take that as seriously as one can do, and therefore the minimum that Max can achieve today is being unhappy.”

Red Bull could go back to its more conventional rear wing design that it used towards the start of the season if it is not fully convinced the new design - which debuted in Miami - will not suffer another failure. 

While Ferrari has had no major safety-related incidents or concerns regarding its own rear wing solution, which was heavily tested before introduction, the FIA wants to review the behaviours of both team's wing designs. 

The wings are required to have a maximum transition time of 400 milliseconds within which the rear wing must close. 

"Any adjustment of RW Flap may only be controlled by the FIA Standard ECU and must have a maximum transition time between the two fixed positions that does not exceed 400ms, measured from the instant at which the command to change mode is issued by the FIA Standard ECU until the position sensor, connected to the FIA Standard ECU, confirms that the commanded fixed position has been reached,” the 2026 F1 technical regulations state. 

The FIA ultimately has the power to bar any car from entering an F1 race if it features a part that is deemed to be unsafe. 

In theory, the most extreme scenario could see the FIA decide to ban the concept altogether for the remainder of the season, or for 2027.