McLaren will bring several Monza-specific aerodynamic adaptations to the 2026 Italian Grand Prix, including the long-awaited race debut of its reversed movable rear wing, now officially known as the H-Wing. The solution is designed to reduce drag at the Temple of Speed as Lando Norris looks to build on consecutive victories in Budapest and Zandvoort.
Monza may not, however, be the circuit best suited to highlighting all of the MCL40’s strengths. Although McLaren arrives after back-to-back wins on two tracks with very different characteristics, the Italian circuit’s long straights present a specific challenge for a car that generates significant downforce through its bodywork.
McLaren prepares special MCL40 changes for Monza
The MCL40’s ability to generate aerodynamic load through the body of the car can be a formidable weapon on more technical circuits, but the associated drag could become a disadvantage on a venue dominated by long straights such as Monza. McLaren is attempting to address that challenge with several small aerodynamic updates and one particularly anticipated development: its reversed movable rear wing, previously nicknamed the “Macarena”.
Lando Norris recently explained that McLaren’s main performance difficulties emerge in slow, tight-radius corners, something that should provide some reassurance heading into a weekend at Monza. The British driver has also been in excellent form, having followed his Budapest victory with another win at Zandvoort as he continues to extract more from the MCL40.
McLaren itself is nevertheless managing expectations. In its pre-event preview, the team acknowledged that the MCL40 “may not be the outright fastest this weekend”, while maintaining the ambition to “build on the recent positive momentum and try to make the most of every opportunity to bring home important points for the championship”.
McLaren H-Wing set for race debut at Monza
To maximise its chances, McLaren will rely on several aerodynamic solutions developed specifically for Monza’s almost unique characteristics, alongside a component that has already appeared on track but has yet to be used in a race.
That component is the new H-Wing, the reversed movable rear wing that makes McLaren the third team on the grid, after Ferrari and Red Bull, to explore this type of concept in an effort to reduce aerodynamic drag.
The solution was already tested during FP1 at the Hungarian Grand Prix, although its operation differed from the versions used by Ferrari and Red Bull. McLaren then set it aside without racing it, with Monza always expected to be the circuit where the concept would become particularly relevant.
The development forms part of McLaren’s wider effort to continue improving the MCL40 after its recent step forward. The team is also preparing further upgrades for Baku after Lando Norris’ Dutch Grand Prix victory, as it attempts to maintain its recent momentum against Mercedes.
Why McLaren does not want the wing called ‘Macarena’
The “Macarena” nickname, however, can now be forgotten. The term was jokingly coined by Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur at the beginning of the season and quickly entered Formula 1 vocabulary because it vividly described the movement of the mobile flap.
McLaren has instead renamed its reversed rear-wing concept the H-Wing, a deliberate reference to the ingenious F-Duct created by the Woking team’s engineers in 2010.
The original “F-Duct” received its name because an opening in the system was positioned close to the letter F in the branding of Vodafone, McLaren’s sponsor at the time. In a similar fashion, the actuator operating the new rear-wing system is positioned around the letter “H” in the Etihad branding on the rear wing, hence the H-Wing name.
Whatever it is called, the concept gives McLaren another option as it attempts to optimise the MCL40 for one of Formula 1’s most unusual circuit layouts. It could also support Lando Norris’ hopes of continuing his recovery after two consecutive victories, even at a track that theoretically may not suit McLaren as well as Budapest or Zandvoort.
Lando Norris’ recent run has coincided with clear progress both from the car and from the driver himself. The reigning champion has explained how he believes he has become a more complete driver in 2026, and Monza will now provide another very different test of both his form and McLaren’s increasingly versatile MCL40.
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