Red Bull switches to standard rear wing for Belgian GP

Red Bull has reverted to a conventional rear wing design for this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix following two high-speed crashes linked to its innovative rotating wing concept. The decision, confirmed by team principal Laurent Mekies on Thursday, July 16, comes after driver Max Verstappen suffered incidents at the Austrian and British Grands Prix.

Verstappen experienced a heavy crash during qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix last month after his rear wing failed to close properly when transitioning from straight-line to cornering mode. A similar failure caused him to spin into the gravel at the Stowe corner while running third in the British Grand Prix on July 12. After the Silverstone incident, Verstappen described the situation as "super dangerous," stating he was lucky not to have been hurt in either accident.

The problematic component is Red Bull's version of a rotating rear wing, a design pioneered by Ferrari during winter testing. Dubbed the "Macarena" wing, the concept sees the main flap rotate more than 180 degrees on straights to significantly reduce drag and increase speed before returning to a standard position for corners. Red Bull introduced its own mechanical...