Ferrari’s endplate design contains a ‘controversial’ part seen on Michael Schumacher’s 2011 Mercedes

Follow us on Google Discover

Ferrari’s rear wing was one of the biggest talking points during the second week of pre-season testing in Bahrain, but one solution the Scuderia used might have been oddly familiar to Lewis Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will be quietly confident heading to the Australian Grand Prix after nine days of running in Barcelona and Bahrain.

Ferrari completed the third-most laps across pre-season testing, only behind Mercedes and surprise midfield outfit Haas.

However, Andrea Stella and the rest of the paddock quickly took note of the back of Ferrari’s car on the second Wednesday in Bahrain.

The HP logos on Ferrari’s rear wing suddenly appeared upside-down as the adjustable aero on the back of the SF-26 rotated 270 degrees.

Hamilton only completed a few laps with the new part, but it certainly caught the attention of the rest of the paddock as they quickly scrambled to work out whether it was an innovation that they had missed during the development phase of their cars.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

Ferrari’s endplate actuators derive from Mercedes’ ‘controversial’ 2011 double diffuser

A report from Motorsport has divulged more details about the new Ferrari design.

Ferrari are expected to drop the rotating rear wing ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, although it could make an appearance later in the year.

In order for the diffuser to spin in both directions, Ferrari had to design a different actuator.

These were therefore installed inside the endplate, meaning they had to be capable of enduring high loads and have been described as ‘extremely sophisticated’ as a result.

The report from Motorsport notes that this solution was also used by Mercedes during the 2011 season.

PROVE ME WRONG: LEWIS HAMILTON WILL CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE WITH FERRARI IN 2026 👇

The latest news about Ferrari's new car makes Lewis Hamilton's 2026 campaign even harder to predict…

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

The Silver Arrows also placed their actuators in the endplate to allow for the ‘double DRS’ innovation, which was eventually banned.

Although Ferrari’s design is ‘profoundly different’ from what Mercedes came up with, it’s interesting to see these concepts reappear to solve an alternative issue.

Ferrari slowed down their development of last year’s car early on, and it was clear that Leclerc and Hamilton were becoming more and more frustrated as a result.

However, it could be argued that out of the top teams on the grid, Fred Vasseur’s outfit have dared to experiment far more than their rivals at this stage.

READ MORE: Who is Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur? Everything you need to know

FIA now investigating changes to 2026 turbos that could be devastating to Ferrari

Heading into the first race of the season in Australia, there are still plenty of discussions that teams are having to try to gain an edge over their rivals.

Mercedes have avoided an immediate change to their power unit after concerns from rivals about their compression ratio.

On top of this, Ferrari’s initial concerns about race starts were ignored, and Vasseur’s team manufactured their power unit with a smaller turbo to avoid difficult getaways off the line.

However, the FIA is exploring ‘limitations’ that could remove their turbo advantage. This would be a huge blow to Ferrari as they’ve designed their engine around their interpretation of the rules that other teams failed to follow.

Hamilton and Leclerc have looked rapid during practice starts in testing, although the data suggests Mercedes-powered cars might actually be quicker off the line.

There are so many factors to take into account before qualifying begins in Australia, with the pecking order still unclear after nine days of testing.