Why McLaren’s controversial mini-DRS rear wing became a “source of pride”

McLaren feels the controversy generated by its rear wings in Formula 1’s 2024 is a “point of pride”, showing just how far the team has come.

The design of McLaren’s low downforce rear wings raised eyebrows in Azerbaijan, where at higher speeds the upper element appeared to rotate back more than rival teams were comfortable with, opening up a slot gap between the two elements dubbed a mini DRS.

After competitors questioned the legality of the design, the FIA deemed McLaren’s rear wings within the regulations.

However, the governing body still requested the team to make changes to avoid forcing other teams into coming up with similar designs and opening up a new arms race to further exploit the regulations around aeroelasticity.

Subsequently, McLaren made modifications to its full range of rear wings, and some rival teams have also had to make integrity tweaks to their upper flaps.

Looking back on one of F1 2024’s main technical intrigues, McLaren’s engineering technical director Neil Houldey says the controversy surrounding its mini DRS is seen by the team as a compliment that shows just how much it has become an innovator rather than a midfielder lagging behind the likes of Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes.

“If you go back 12 months, no one was interested in what we were doing,” Houldey told Motorsport.com in an exclusive interview. “So, as a team actually there’s a sense of pride there, that there are other teams out there concerned about their position in the championship, concerned about what we’re doing.

“We can go back and say: ‘Actually, well done, guys. You’ve got people up and down pit lane looking at what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and trying to emulate us.’ It’s a good situation to be in and it demonstrates just how much has happened in the last 18 months, and demonstrates the performance that we’ve put on the car.

“We did it knowing the solution was legal. There was feedback from other teams that were not happy with it. And actually the FIA, after discussing it with us, didn’t want that proliferating and didn’t want to force other teams to have to find those solutions.

“So, they asked us to drop the effect to a level that was similar to some of the other teams; actually slightly lower, because other teams, there are a few other teams who had to make similar changes.

“We were happy to do that. We’ll try and take opportunities where we can, just as…