Red Bull abandons new wing design after Verstappen’s high-speed crashes

Max Verstappen crashed twice—once in qualifying at Austria, once during the British Grand Prix—and Red Bull has decided to act. For the Belgian Grand Prix, the team is switching back to a conventional rear wing.

This season, Red Bull and Ferrari rolled out an aggressive new rear wing where the top flap rotates more than 180 degrees to open into straight-line mode. The result sounds impressive: a bigger opening, less drag, and more speed down the straights. But that aggressive geometry carried a hidden problem.

The crashes stemmed from how the wing closed when Verstappen entered high-speed corners. Red Bull spotted the issue after running tests following the Silverstone race. Team principal Laurent Mekies confirmed the switch to BBC Sport.

The conventional wing Spa will see Red Bull use opens for straight-line running in the standard way. It’s a step back from the cutting-edge design that promised performance gains—but it gives the team the stability it needs right now.