The FIA has approved Ferrari's innovative rear wing design trialed during pre-season testing in Bahrain. Team principal Fred Vasseur expressed satisfaction with the team's mileage and data collection, while highlighting the importance of ongoing development. Ferrari also demonstrated strong race starts thanks to a smaller turbo in their power unit.
Ferrari tested a radical rear wing design during the Bahrain pre-season sessions for the 2026 Formula 1 season. The design, first deployed by Lewis Hamilton on Thursday, features a slot gap that flips up and turns 270 degrees to open, creating lift to reduce drag and increase top speed. On Wednesday, the team used a standard DRS-style opening. Hamilton completed five laps with the new variant before technical issues arose. Team principal Fred Vasseur indicated the wing could be used in grands prix.
FIA single-seater technical director Nikolas Tombazis confirmed the design's legality, stating, "We have, generally speaking, encouraged solutions that reduce drag." He noted that last year's DRS regulations limiting slot gap openings were not retained to provide teams more freedom, adding, "The Ferrari solution, we believe, is okay."
Vasseur reflected positively on the testing, saying the team met their target of accumulating significant mileage and improving session by session. Charles Leclerc set the fastest time of the three-day event at 1m 31.992s, completing 132 laps on Friday. Vasseur emphasized focusing on their own performance, as comparisons are complicated by unknown factors like fuel loads, engine modes, and tire types. He stressed that rapid development would be crucial for maintaining momentum, more so than the result of the opening Australian Grand Prix on March 6-8.
Additionally, Ferrari-powered cars, including the SF-26 and Haas VF-26, showed superior starts in practice sessions. This stems from a smaller turbo developed under new regulations without the MGU-H, allowing quicker spool-up without preloading. The change addresses safety concerns over manual turbo management, which can take up to 10 seconds and risks stalling.