Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc now set for private test with Ferrari’s Miami GP aero package

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Ferrari now plan to use their filming day at Monza during F1’s April break to let Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc test aerodynamic upgrades they hope to race in Miami.

The 2026 F1 season has hit pause after the Japanese Grand Prix due to the cancellations of the rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia because of the situation in the Middle East. The two rounds dropping off the schedule left a five-week break before the Miami Grand Prix in May.

Ferrari have long planned to use the gap in the 2026 calendar due to the cancellations of the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to stage a filming day at Monza. It has even been reported that Ferrari proposed that F1 holds a joint test at Monza so they could do more than 200km.

But Aston Martin, McLaren, Mercedes and Williams are each said to have opposed Ferrari’s suggestion of a joint test at the home of the Italian Grand Prix. So, the Scuderia will instead stick with a private filming day, which F1’s rules limit to 200km (124m) of on-track activities.

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Ferrari will test their Macarena rear wing at Monza ahead of its race debut at the Miami Grand Prix

Ferrari initially planned their filming day at Monza to test their engine, as the Scuderia want to see how well their power unit can recover energy around the Temple of Speed. F1 teams are expected to face a serious challenge managing their batteries at the Italian GP this year.

READ MORE: When is the next race after F1 cancelled the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia rounds?

But F1Techincal, which reports that ‘sources’ close to Ferrari claim the Scuderia aim to stage the filming day at Monza on April 21, adds that the Maranello squad will also use the test to let both Hamilton and Leclerc use their ‘latest aerodynamic updates’ ahead of the Miami GP.

Ferrari want to hit the ground running when the 2026 season resumes in Miami on May 1-3. So, their engineers in Maranello have designed a new aero package for the circuit set inside the car parks at Hard Rock Stadium, as well as tweaks for their hybrid management systems.

Part of Ferrari’s upgrade package for the Miami GP will include their Macarena rear wing, as the team have high hopes for the wing they have teased since pre-season testing in Bahrain. Hamilton trialled the rear wing in Bahrain, before he and Leclerc also briefly used it in China.

Ferrari did not keep the Macarena rear wing on the SF-26 at the Chinese Grand Prix beyond the only practice session, as they thought it was not reliable enough to last a full event. Also, Ferrari’s Macarena rear wing created balance issues that they did not have the time to solve.

The pride of Italy hoped that the data they gathered in China would allow them to use their revolutionary wing at the Japanese Grand Prix. But Ferrari shelved the wing at Suzuka, after F1 only used the start/finish straight and between Turns 14 and 15 as Straight Mode Zones.

Hamilton and Leclerc will expect Ferrari to use their Macarena rear wing at the Italian GP at Monza on September 4-6, however, and it could make its race debut in Miami. F1 could use from Turns 19 to 1, Turns 8 or 9 to 11 and Turns 16 to 17 as Straight Mode Zones in Florida.