Red Bull has brought a host of upgrades for this weekend’s Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, but McLaren abandoned its “experimental” new addition.
The Styrian hills will be alive with the roar of F1 engines for the Austrian GP, this weekend.
Round eight of the 2026 campaign will see the sport move onto the Red Bull Ring with the European leg of the season now well and truly underway.
Barcelona proved to be Ferrari’s renaissance as Lewis Hamilton took his maiden win for the iconic Italian marque – exactly 30 years since Michael Schumacher made history with the team at the venue.
But with McLaren’s fourth podium of the season going Lando Norris’ way at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the Woking-based team has brought a radical upgrade package for the MCL40 to Austria, this weekend.
The team will sport a revised rear brake duct inlet on its car with the view to gain “aerodynamic load generated around the rear corner.”
That said, it’s the MCL40’s new “experimental” rear wing that had heads turning in the paddock.
As per McLaren’s disclosures to the FIA, the new rear wing will activate the flap in an “alternative position in straight line mode”, with the team claiming it to reduce drag across the four substantial straight mode zones.
Many have speculated whether it’s McLaren’s turn to test out the ‘Macarena’ rear-wing debuted by Ferrari and Red Bull so far.
Oscar Piastri neatly side-stepped the details but did concede inspiration was drawn from its rivals for the design of this “experimental” rear-wing which will only be fitted to the MCL40 during Friday running.
“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,” he said.
However, it was shelved a lot sooner than that, as it did not even see any on-track action in FP1, as apparent anomalies were discovered prior to either car taking to the circuit, as per The Race.
Red Bull brings major upgrade package for home-race at F1 Austrian GP
The RB22 has been caught in no man’s land for the majority of the season, with the race at Barcelona proving the point as Max Verstappen drove a ‘lonely’ race to the chequered flag in P4.
At Spielberg, however, the Austrian energy drinks giants’ F1 project has seemingly brought as many as five performance upgrades for its 2026 challenger.
A revised floor and floor board are in order for the Milton-Keynes-based team amid further refinements towards the rear-end of the RB22.
The rear suspension of Red Bull’s package will see reprofiled and revised fairings around the gearbox and suspension elements in order to stabilise airflow across the elevation changes the circuit commands.
Additionally, the rear-wing pylon profiles have also been reworked to “at least maintain flow stability” while a revamped exhaust tailpipe featuring a modified overlap between the tailpipe exit profile and the supporting tailpipe bracket will increase local load.
Red Bull have also brought reworked side pods, with amended inlets to ensure that the air pressure is at the optimum when entering the radiators despite the elevation changes, and an adapted engine cover to boost its reliability.
The top 2 in the championship, Mercedes and Ferrari have brought lighter upgrades for their packages, respectively.
The Brackley-based team is expected to run a revised front-suspension to counteract ride-height changes, across the lap, and maintain optimum air flow towards the rear of the W17.
The German marque will also sport an adapted engine cover with a narrow rear exit to promote manipulate cooler air flow.
Ferrari has decided to build on the front-wing it brought to Barcelona with further refinements to endplate elements with a revised diveplane and footplane.
The Scuderia is also expected to run a modified RV tail, floor board and mirror stay though the team claims they are only practice test items which are “not track specific and focused on data gathering and correlation exercise.”
Cadillac and Audi aim to make big gains at the Red Bull Ring
Cadillac had teased a big upgrade package for the race weekend at Austria, with both Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas hoping it help the team close the gap to the midfield.
The Silverstone-based team has brought 10 performance upgrades on its car with the majority of its focusing on the last-third of its package.
The team will fit a revised diffuser and floor to the car along with a reprofiled beam wing surfaces. Other upgrades for the team are aimed towards air flow conditioning and improving its cooling capabilities.
Cadillac will sport a completely revamped engine cover, side pods and cooling louvres to increase its cooling efficiency and air flow conditioning.
Audi have also brought substantial upgrades for the Austrian GP, with a brand-new front wing endplate design, front corner geometry and floor.
Along with this, the German marque will also revise the rear corner, rear suspension, beam wing and rear wing elements aimed at improving its air flow conditioning.
Elsewhere in the midfield, Racing Bulls is slated to bring a reworked diffuser and exhaust tailpipe with Haas bringing a revised front brake duct design and additional cooling louvre grill options on its package.
Alpine have worked mostly on its front-end with a modified front-wing, endplates, nose and front corner geometry in order for the A526. The Enstone-based team will also sport a revised diffuser for this weekend.
Williams and Aston Martin have not brought any upgrades to the Red Bull Ring, this weekend.
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