McLaren make big breakthrough with new upgrade ready to fight Mercedes and Ferrari

An upgrade McLaren are planning for their car could accelerate their chances of challenging Ferrari and Mercedes for the constructors' championship.

The F1 campaign reached an exciting climax before the summer break at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

In the 11th race of the season, Lando Norris claimed his second successive victory at the Hungaroring, and his first of 2026, to finish ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Mercedes Kimi Antonelli.

But while there was pure elation for Norris, it was despair for teammate Oscar Piastri, who was forced to retire at the start of lap 56 after his gearbox failed.

"A lot of things to unpack. Firstly, the pace on the hard tyres was nowhere, and then obviously getting taken out by a backmarker is never really one of the things you think can go wrong," Piastri said immediately after the race.

"But I was proven wrong. Then obviously the gearbox, so not the easiest of days."

Reflecting on a mixed race for McLaren, team principal Andrea Stella has since confirmed that their 'rotating rear wing' - tested during Friday's practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix - has been signed off and will feature at forthcoming races.

"It’s been a complicated project, which was no surprise,” Stella told reporters, as per Planet F1.

“It’s been a positive sign-off of this concept, and we look forward now to introducing this concept, at some future events."

The wing passed mechanical and aerodynamic evaluations during practice before they opted against using it at the Hungaroring.

Ferrari pioneered their own solution, dubbed the 'Macarena' wing, with Lewis Hamilton running it in practice at the Chinese Grand Prix before its competitive race introduction in Barcelona.

Red Bull also created their own version of the wing, but the design has been temporarily shelved following two high-speed incidents for Max Verstappen in Austria and Great Britain.

Why this change can help McLaren challenge for the constructors' championship

It's a tall order for McLaren to launch a comeback and defend their constructors' championship.

Currently 159 points behind leaders Mercedes, the Surrey-based team will need Antonelli to drop off in the second half of the season and for this wing change to work wonders.

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“I don’t think the wind tunnel is a major factor in terms of determining the aerodynamic behaviour in reattachment,” Stella argued.

“You can use some other tools for that, and then the most important tool, especially when you have these sort of complicated projects, even from an aerodynamic point of view, remains what you observe at the track.

“It was important for us to acquire data via trackside because you would have never relied on a wind tunnel only for such a delicate project.”

The efficiency gains from this wing solution can benefit McLaren on straights and high-speed venues like Monza and Baku.

Those tracks, in particular, could be the prime target for them to debut the device in race conditions.

Should this key change become a success, there is every chance McLaren could make a surge for the championship.