Ferrari already plan to shelve their radical rear wing seen on Lewis Hamilton’s car at F1 testing

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Ferrari unveiled a radical rear wing on Lewis Hamilton’s car during the second week of the 2026 Bahrain pre-season test, but the Scuderia have no immediate plan to race it.

Hamilton only completed five laps of the Bahrain International Circuit on Thursday morning. But eyes were glued to the rear wing on his Ferrari SF-26 as soon as he entered the straight mode setting introduced within F1’s 2026 regulations overhaul, with DRS a thing of the past.

Overtake mode has now replaced the Drag Reduction System (DRS), but moveable rear wing flaps – and now also moveable front wings – are a key part of the new generation of cars via straight mode. F1 has also given the 11 teams far more scope with their activation methods.

Ferrari will not race their flipping rear wing until ‘later’ in the 2026 F1 season

Most of the teams merely repurposed DRS, while Audi and Alpine developed front-mounted hinges. But Ferrari’s rotating rear wing at the second Bahrain test was a truly unique idea, as the upper flap flipped 180° to reduce drag and require less electrical energy on the straights.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1’s 2026 engine and aero regulations

GPS data in Bahrain also showed Ferrari’s flipping rear wing gave Hamilton a 10km/h (6mph) speed boost down the straights. Yet Top Speed reports that Ferrari intend to shelve the rear wing that team boss Fred Vasseur has nicknamed the “Macarena” until ‘later in the season’.

Ferrari were merely holding an initial trial of their radical rear wing concept during the test in Bahrain. The Scuderia will likely now revert to the repurposed DRS flap that they had initially used during the Barcelona shakedown and during the other sessions at both Bahrain tests.

FIA single-seater technical director Nikolas Tombazis cleared Ferrari’s flipping rear wing

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Ferrari are not shelving their flipping rear wing until later in the 2026 F1 season due to any type of legality concern. Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s single-seater technical director, said in Bahrain that the governing body had no immediate issues with Ferrari’s rear wing concept.

Tombazis told The Race: “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 [in the slot gap], have not been maintained this year. It is to give more freedom, and the Ferrari solution, we believe, is OK.”

Yet Ferrari intend to shelve the design and stick with the more typical DRS-style wing that Hamilton and Charles Leclerc used during every other session during pre-season testing. The pride of Italy may even wait until F1 goes to high-speed tracks like Monza to trial it again.