Ferrari came out with one of the largest talking points of Formula 1 pre-season testing, an ‘upside down’ rear wing, which elicited a strong response from Ollie Bearman.
Thursday morning of testing seemed all but halted when videos of Ferrari’s new rear wing design surfaced. Instead of rotating slightly, as the rest of the grid did, the SF-26 rotated 225 degrees. Turning it upside-down.
Ollie Bearman was following Lewis Hamilton out on track when the new feature was shown for the first time. Admittedly, it left him shocked.
He told media including Motorsport Week, “I was behind Lewis, and I saw it, and I was like, f***, what happened? I thought it was broken, but honestly, it’s super innovative.”
“It looks pretty slick as well, so if it works on track, then they’ve done something right, that’s for sure.”
The Brit said it wasn’t a complete surprise, noting that Haas and many other teams had considered a similar rear wing but had been unable to make the compromise worthwhile.
“It looks cool, but it’s heavy as well,” Bearman said.
With weight playing a significant role in performance and lap times under the new regulations, teams are focused on doing whatever it takes to balance speed and innovation.
“Everyone, I think, has considered it, including ourselves. But, there’s always a compromise to be made on those things.”
Legality of the wing
Bearman wasn’t the only one shocked by the new Ferrari component, and despite quickly switching back to the previous rear wing spec later in the day, the focus remained on the prancing horses.
Under new regulations for 2026, accusations are being levied against various teams for alleged infringements. Most recently, Mercedes has faced criticism over its compression ratio loophole. Naturally, Ferrari quickly faced the same scrutiny for their rear wing.
However, Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s technical director, gave the rear wing the green light. He said, “We have, generally speaking, encouraged solutions that reduce drag.
“That’s why the DRS regulations of last year, which were limiting the amount of opening, those have not been maintained this year in order to give more freedom.
“And the Ferrari solution, we believe, is OK.”
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