Gary Anderson thinks Lewis Hamilton may be right about what Ferrari are ‘missing’ compared to rivals

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Gary Anderson thinks Lewis Hamilton may be right about Ferrari’s front wing, after he suggested the Scuderia are “doing something different” compared to their rival crews.

Hamilton took a close look at what Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull have all done with their front wings at the Miami Grand Prix last time out. Ferrari debuted the most upgrades by any team in Florida with a total of 11, yet the Scuderia still fell to fourth in the 2026 pecking order.

Ferrari had been Mercedes’ biggest rival before the five-week break in the 2026 F1 calendar due to the cancellations of the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. But Lando Norris won the F1 Sprint in Miami, and he could have won the main race if McLaren pitted him a lap earlier.

Red Bull also proved that they can still emerge as a threat this season in Florida, after their upgrades allowed Max Verstappen to qualify P2 for the Miami GP. Verstappen’s spin at the start of the Miami GP ruined his race, and McLaren – rather than Ferrari – capitalised on it.

Gary Anderson thinks Lewis Hamilton may be right that Ferrari’s front wing needs work

Seeing the progress that Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull enjoyed with their front wings in Miami convinced Hamilton that Ferrari’s rivals are “doing something different” to them. He also suggested in Florida that Ferrari needed to look into whether they have missed a trick.

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Former Jordan technical director Anderson thinks Hamilton “may well be correct” to suggest that Ferrari have missed a trick with their front wing, having compared the Scuderia’s design with their rivals’. In particular, Anderson suggests that Ferrari may have been wrong to have overlooked the diveplane on the outer surface of their front wing – which their rivals boast.

Anderson told The Race: “Hamilton may well be correct in his suggestions that Ferrari have missed something with their front wing design, but teams also need to be careful as it’s easy to waste your valuable wind tunnel and CFD time on blind-alley visual impressions…

“Ferrari’s design is basically the ‘simplest’, and the leading edge of the endplate is further forward than the leading edge of the wing. It’s not as high as the Mercedes or the McLaren, and it’s not as integrated as the Red Bull. So, it is in a bit of no-man’s land.

“This flow separation point is also influenced by the trailing edge. The more aggressive the wing is, the higher that leading edge separation point will be, and basically the more flow will be pulled under the wing with higher flap angles.

“McLaren are the most aggressive in this area, followed by Ferrari. However, I’m not sure the Ferrari’s leading edge and trailing edge complement each other. So, the car could be aerodynamically quite sensitive to mid-corner roll.

“The small area [between the end of their front wing’s flaps and the inside of the endplate] is there on all of them, and works in conjunction with the front brake duct.

“However, it is the smallest on the Ferrari. On the McLaren, it is more inclined and integrated with the flap trailing edge.

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“As for the outer, horizontal-ish vane on the endplates, Red Bull’s has more curvature in it. McLaren and Mercedes are again very similar, and Ferrari doesn’t have one.

“So, is this the main element that Ferrari are missing and that Hamilton is referring to, and could that be making a difference?”

Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull integrated a diveplane that is attached to their front wing endplates with their concepts, whereas Ferrari have so far not had the near-horizontal part on their wing. The diveplane is designed to separate the air pressure around the front tyre.

By leaving out the diveplane from their front wing concept, Anderson adds that Ferrari can leave them susceptible to allowing more of the airflow to pass inside their front tyre at the expense of their overall flow management. So, Ferrari likely have “room for improvement”.

Hamilton and Charles Leclerc may now hope to see a diveplane on their front wings at the Canadian Grand Prix on May 22-24. But it remains to be seen whether Ferrari adhered to Hamilton’s request and investigated whether or not their front wing concept needs work.