Ferrari’s new rear wing gives Lewis Hamilton ’10km/h’ speed boost in ‘first telemetry data’

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Ferrari have unveiled a surprise development for the second straight day at F1 testing. On Thursday, the Scuderia debuted a radical new rear wing.

Footage showed the upper element of the rear wing rotating to an ‘upside-down’ position when straight-line mode was activated. Active aero has effectively replaced DRS for the 2026 season.

Hamilton’s running was extremely limited before the break as an unspecified issue kept Ferrari in the garage, but the rear-wing innovation has nonetheless sparked considerable excitement.

24 hours earlier, Ferrari debuted a new exhaust winglet not seen on any other cars. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was seen examining the upgrade.

Ferrari unlock more straight-line speed with radical F1 testing wing

While Hamilton’s stint was brief, journalist Simone Peluso noticed an immediate uptick in the ‘first telemetry data’. He apparently gained ‘8-10km/h’ on the straights relative to the earlier spec.

The sample size is too small to draw any firm conclusions, but if the design is genuinely that potent, other teams are bound to copy it immediately.

Will Lewis Hamilton’s contribution to Ferrari’s car development be a gamechanger?

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For context, DRS was supposed to offer a speed boost of 10-15km/h, so this could make overtaking far easier for Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. It would also make it extremely difficult for rivals to pass them.

There were accusations earlier in the winter that Ferrari had been too safe with their 2026 concept, but they have responded emphatically.

Craig Scarborough had to check it wasn’t ‘April 1st’ after seeing Ferrari rear wing

Writing on X, F1 technical expert Craig Scarborough said, ‘I’m just checking the date isn’t April 1st’, in response to a screenshot of the Ferrari wing. Bizarrely, the logos of title sponsor HP had flipped.

While Scarborough was clearly joking, his remark underlines just how radical Ferrari’s approach really is.

In further encouragement for Ferrari, Anthony Davidson said Hamilton finally looked ‘at home’ in the car during Wednesday’s running.

Hamilton was only seventh-fastest but Davidson said the ‘body language’ of the car suited Hamilton, who never looked comfortable in the SF-25 last season.