F1 Teams Unveil 2026 Austrian GP Upgrades as Alonso Targets August 2027 Decision

Q: With rivals debuting similar designs months ago, is McLaren's new rear wing too little, too late?

Probably yes for the short term, but not necessarily for the rest of the season. McLaren’s new “upside-down” rear wing arrives well after Ferrari and Red Bull began exploiting similar concepts. Norris himself has signaled the frustration, saying the team is late on the idea, and the timing matters because Austria is not a clean-sheet weekend: Ferrari has brought a new engine, Red Bull a major performance package, and Mercedes a battery update. In that context, McLaren is reacting rather than setting the pace. The bigger issue is that the wing is not yet race-ready. It is being tested on Norris’s car on Friday, with indications it will not be used competitively in Austria. That means there is no immediate payoff at a weekend when rivals are already banking gains from mature versions of comparable concepts. If the question is whether this part alone can change McLaren’s position now, the evidence points to no. That said, “too late” can be overstated over a full championship. Rear-wing concepts are rarely magic bullets on their own, and the value may come from how the design fits McLaren’s broader aero platform and future setups. Even small gains can matter if they unlock better balance or tire management. So the fair reading is that the wing is too late to deliver a decisive immediate advantage, but not too late to become a useful development step if McLaren can turn the Friday test into a reliable race package quickly.

3 articles · Updated · The Race · Jun 25

Mercedes, McLaren, Red Bull and Cadillac arrived in Austria with major new parts, with Mercedes adding a battery update, McLaren testing a new rear wing and Cadillac targeting a gain of a few tenths.
That push is reshaping race plans: Mercedes said George Russell and Kimi Antonelli may race each other differently after Barcelona, where intra-team fighting may have cost the team a better result.
Haas also used Thursday to signal longer-term planning, with reigning Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli emerging as a contender for a 2027 seat if Esteban Ocon's inconsistent form does not improve.
Williams and Ferrari are still managing recent setbacks, with Alex Albon's troubled Barcelona chassis kept at the factory for testing, while Charles Leclerc said braking issues and mechanical failures—not car fit—hurt his recent form.
Fernando Alonso tied his own future to Aston Martin's progress, saying he expects to decide around August or after Monza whether to stay in F1 in 2027 or race elsewhere.