McLaren take Monza H-wing decision after Friday verdict

McLaren has made the call on whether it will race its highly anticipated H-wing at the Italian Grand Prix after completing a full day of running with the component at Monza. 

McLaren has previously brought its version of the Ferrari 'macarena wing' to Austria and Hungary, but elected not to complete a test in the former, while only using it sparingly in practice for the latter. 

The team completed both Friday sessions with what it calls the 'H-wing' - due to the positioning of the actuator on the 'H' of its sponsor - with Lando Norris ending the day fourth fastest and Oscar Piastri sixth. 

It is not uncommon for teams to evaluate an upgrade on a Friday evening and elect not to run the new part, but for McLaren, the decision appears to have already been made that it will see through the weekend with the advanced wing. 

"Really, really, really pleased with the H-wing," said technical director of engineering, Neil Houldey. 

"It's been, as you saw right from the start of the season, we've been developing. We brought it to an event previously, tested, and it's good to see it on the car. From the sign-off that we've done at this event, mechanically, it looks like we're fine to race it, and from an aero perspective, it does exactly as we expected to. 

"So [we're] really pleased to bring that extra performance to this event."

While there were no concerns vocalised by McLaren, onboard footage during second practice appeared to show the upper element of the wing flapping significantly, although the snap as the wing closed highlighted that the actuator still had a solid gasp on that element.

He added: "It just shows we could have done with a little bit more, but I think everyone back at the factory, all the way through concept, design, manufacturing, and getting that to the track for this event - brilliant job."