Scuderia Ferrari again grabbed attention during the winter tests at the Bahrain circuit. Where the team had earlier stood out with a striking exhaust concept, on the second Thursday in Bahrain it rolled out a radical change to the rear wing. The slot opening of the DRS system is gone; instead the entire rear wing flips upside down.
Lewis Hamilton tested the new wing during the second day of running. Unlike the DRS of recent seasons, where the flap only opens a little, Ferrari’s rear wing now rotates as a whole. Rivals have steered clear of the idea so far.
New concepts
In theory this approach should cut drag on the straights, meaning the SF-26 can run higher top speeds. Nowhere in the regulations does it state which way a wing must open, so the Italian outfit is experimenting inside the rules. Both front and rear wings will open from this season, giving teams fresh options to unlock speed.
Whether the cars will actually be quicker because of this concept remains unclear. Hamilton only did a handful of laps with the new rear wing before coming back into the garage. Ferrari is therefore still primarily focused on gathering data for the new element.
Ferrari keeps innovating
Ferrari’s ‘upside-down’ rear wing is just the latest innovation from the Italian team. On the first test day this week the team had already introduced a new wing around the exhaust. That concept is designed to better exploit the airflow at the back of the car. The idea is that this extra wing helps the rear wing operate more effectively. Further running will have to show whether the rear wing translates into improved on-track performance.
