By AutodromeF1 Editorial Team
London. United Kingdom – May 11 2026
The Dawn of Divergence: Andrea Stella on Red Bull’s “Smart” Sidepod Innovation and F1’s 2026 Technical Arms Race
In the wake of the 2026 Miami Grand Prix, McLaren Racing Team Principal Andrea Stella has spotlighted Red Bull Racing’s latest RB22 upgrade as a pivotal moment in Formula 1’s aerodynamic development war, calling the team “quite smart and innovative” in its interpretation of the regulations.
Speaking to media after Red Bull debuted a heavily revised sidepod concept in Miami, Stella said the current period is unusually compelling for engineers and fans alike.
“For those who are technically interested, we are in a very, very interesting phase,” Stella said. “It is very interesting because if you see the sidepod concept that Red Bull introduced, it is quite different to the sidepod concept that, for instance, Mercedes and Ferrari have adopted, and the McLaren style is further different.”
The comments come as the paddock digests one of the most comprehensive upgrade packages seen so far in 2026. Red Bull arrived in Miami with updates to the floor, sidepods, and top bodywork of the RB22, alongside an entirely novel rear wing mechanism. The scale of the package was acknowledged as a risk, but one Red Bull believed would pay off at Miami International Autodrome, where two long straights reward drag reduction.
Max Verstappen demonstrated the potential of the package immediately, starting the race in P2.
Red Bull’s “Smart and Innovative” Route Through the Rules
What drew Stella’s specific praise was not just the visual change, but how Red Bull engineered it.
“They have been quite smart and innovative in the way they have used some legality concessions to introduce such geometry,” Stella noted.
Technical analysis suggests Stella’s reference to “legality concession” relates to the rear section of the so-called “waterslide area” on the RB22. Instead of falling under the “sidepod” subsection of the technical regulations, that area actually pertains to the “engine cover” bounding boxes, or Article C3.8.2, which governs curvature radii. By routing the design through the engine cover provisions, Red Bull may have accessed different geometric freedoms than if it were defined purely as sidepod bodywork.
The approach exemplifies the ongoing cat-and-mouse game of F1 development. While teams constantly search for loopholes and grey areas, Stella hinted that Red Bull may have found an especially clever route with its revised geometry.
An Era of Copying Begins
Stella confirmed that McLaren, like the rest of the grid, is now studying the Red Bull concept intensively.
“So I think there will be a process of looking at each other, testing things and certainly each team will be testing, taking a look at the Red Bull concept to see the advantages,” he said.
That process is already underway across the paddock. The 2026 regulations have produced wildly different solutions so far, and Red Bull’s Miami package is expected to trigger the next round of imitation and iteration. Red Bull arrived in Miami with one of the most comprehensive upgrade packages on the grid, intensifying an aerodynamic arms race that has split the field into sharply contrasting camps.
Why Sidepods Are the 2026 Battleground
To understand the significance, you have to look at where F1 aero is in 2026. Since the ground-effect reset in 2022, sidepods have evolved from primary downforce devices to sophisticated flow conditioners. Their job is to manage cooling, control wake from the front tires, and deliver clean, energized airflow to the floor edges, diffuser, and beam wing.
Stella’s point about divergence is key. In the final years of the previous regulatory cycle, the 2025 cars started to look very similar to each other after a few years of the regulations. That convergence hasn’t happened yet under the current rules.
“I think the overall designs of the cars are far from converging,” Stella explained. “This doesn’t mean that some things have already started to look like: ‘Oh, that is the direction everyone has taken’, but with the 2025 cars, after a few years of the regulations, they started to look very similar to each other. I think we are still far from these conditions.”
Red Bull’s Miami specification appears to target that divergence directly. The team had worked on its novel rear wing system for months and had planned to introduce it well before Miami, targeting pre-season testing and as recently as Suzuka, but could not get it to work reliably until now. Even when it was ready, bringing it alongside floor and sidepod changes was an acknowledged risk.
But the payoff was immediate. Miami’s track layout meant the benefits of better drag reduction would be felt on two extremely long back stretches.
McLaren’s Position: Study, Don’t Panic
For McLaren, Stella’s comments frame a strategy of analytical patience. The team is leading the championship in 2026, but Red Bull’s upgrade is now the benchmark everyone must assess.
The Italian engineer’s approach is characteristic: respectful of a rival’s ingenuity while making clear that McLaren will conduct its own testing. The comments are likely to fuel even more curiosity among rival engineers.
That curiosity is warranted. The lack of convergence marks a striking contrast to the final years of the previous regulations, when the grid gradually evolved toward near-identical concepts. In 2026, Mercedes and Ferrari have adopted one sidepod philosophy, McLaren another, and Red Bull has now introduced a third that is “quite different.”
“I think there will be a stabilisation at some stage, a convergence, but we look like we are quite far from this convergence. So I think there will be a process of looking at each other, testing things, certainly each team will be testing, taking a look at the Red Bull concept, see the advantages.”
The Rules That Enabled It
Part of what makes Red Bull’s package “very interesting,” in Stella’s words, is the regulatory context. The 2026 rules are different from the drag reduction system rules that existed through to 2025. Previously, teams had a permitted slot gap range of between 10mm and 85mm for the rear wing.
Now, the rules have changed from defining how the rear wing must open to defining the open and closed positions. How teams get there, and what size gap they create, is free for greater interpretation. One key Red Bull figure said the critical part of what makes the design possible is that the rules stipulate that, when viewed from below, the axis of rotation must be fully obscured by the flap.
That kind of linguistic specificity is where teams find performance. The wing must also switch between the two fixed positions in no more than 0.4s, and have a minimum distance between the two rear wing profiles of 8-12mm.
Red Bull’s sidepod update cannot be divorced from that wider package. The team’s willingness to debut the sidepods, floor, top bodywork, and the novel rear wing mechanism simultaneously shows confidence in its simulation and track correlation work.
What Happens Next: The Copying, The Testing, The Response
The era of copying has begun, but it’s not simple plagiarism. Under cost cap and aerodynamic testing restrictions, no team can afford to blindly replicate a rival. Instead, they must understand why it works, then adapt the principle to their own car concept.
Stella believes Formula 1 remains far from reaching a settled aerodynamic template. And that uncertainty may be exactly what makes this chapter of Formula 1’s technical war so compelling. In Miami, Red Bull may not only have unveiled an upgrade package – it may have revealed the next battleground.
For McLaren, the immediate task is correlation. Verstappen’s P2 start showed the pace of the Red Bull. McLaren’s engineers will now run the Red Bull concept through CFD and wind tunnel programs to quantify the advantage. If it’s real and applicable, expect to see elements of it on the MCL40 later this season.
Other teams will do the same. The process Stella described – looking at each other, testing things – is F1’s development cycle in microcosm.
The Bigger Picture: 2026 and Beyond
This matters beyond Miami. The 2026 season is the last before another major regulatory overhaul in power units and chassis. Teams must balance extracting performance now against investing in 2027. Heavy upgrade programs can compromise next year’s car if resources are diverted.
Red Bull’s decision to bring such a large package to Miami suggests they believe the championship is still live. McLaren’s response – study first, react second – suggests confidence in their current baseline.
The “waterslide” sidepod is therefore more than an aero part. It’s a statement of intent, a test of the cost cap era, and a case study in reading the rulebook. Stella’s comment about the “legality concession” points to the exact area where Red Bull may have found advantage. Whether that’s a cunning linguistic workaround or a smoking gun in a different section of the rules will be debated in technical meetings up and down the pit lane.
Conclusion: Divergence Is the Story
Andrea Stella’s post-Miami debrief did not concede defeat. It acknowledged innovation. By calling Red Bull’s work “smart and innovative” and situating it in a “very, very interesting phase,” he framed the battle as technical, not political.
The grid has not converged. Red Bull has split the field again. Mercedes and Ferrari share one philosophy, McLaren another, and Red Bull a third. Until wind tunnels and CFD prove one path superior, F1 will enjoy a period of genuine design diversity.
That is what Stella finds compelling. It’s why engineers get up in the morning. And it’s why, after Miami, every team principal’s in-tray has a new item: “Take a look at the Red Bull concept to see the advantages.”
The technical war of 2026 just entered its next phase. And for now, the divergence is the spectacle.