Red Bull began developing their rotating rear wing well before Ferrari revealed a similar concept in testing, according to team principal Laurent Mekies.
Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free
Mekies said it’s unclear which team originally conceived the design, but he was adamant Red Bull’s version was developed independently of Ferrari’s.
“What I can tell you for sure is that the guys invented it without having seen the Ferrari wing,” Mekies told Sky. “I’m not going to tell you who has invented it first because we’ll never know.
“What I will say is that our team started work on this wing much earlier — at the end of last year — and our development was independent of what the others were doing.
“We had a fairly troubled start to the season and priorities had to be adjusted, so the wing only made it to the car now, but it’s an impressive piece of kit.”
Red Bull introduced their rotating rear wing this weekend. Ferrari first showed a similar design in pre-season testing two months ago and are racing it for the first time in Miami.
The new wing is part of a wider update package that helped Red Bull secure their best qualifying result of the season so far. Max Verstappen will start the grand prix from second on the grid.
Mekies said the team has made notable progress since their showing at Suzuka five weeks earlier, where Verstappen finished more than half a minute behind the race winner.
“We knew we had significant homework to do to fully understand the limitations we were facing,” Mekies explained. “Max and Isack [Hadjar] didn’t have a balance they could push with, regardless of where the competition stood.
“There has been extensive work across the board in Milton Keynes on both chassis and power unit to identify what was holding us back. We don’t think everything is fixed yet, but the direction we’re heading in is encouraging based on this weekend’s performance.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter andgo ad-free
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories – and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
2026 Miami Grand Prix
- Miami stats: Mercedes have now won at every track on the F1 calendar – so far
- F1 drivers say they are still at the mercy of their power units over a flying lap
- McLaren’s Miami GP radio messages show the scars of Qatar GP tactical error
- ‘This is not the level F1 should be’: Norris tells F1 to ‘ditch the battery’
- Lawson was right: Racing Bulls should not have ordered him to let Verstappen past
Browse all 2026 Miami Grand Prix articles