The FIA have given Ferrari the ‘green light’ to use aero upgrade their F1 rivals want banned

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Ferrari have turned up to the 2026 F1 season with a swathe of technical innovations in their back pocket to surprise their on-track rivals, with their latest Halo aerodynamic winglet now being given the green light by the FIA to be used on race weekends.

Engineers at Ferrari’s famous Maranello base have been hard at work over the winter break trying to eke out as much performance as they possibly can from F1’s new technical rulebook.

At the second pre-season test in Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton made headlines as he debuted what is now known as the Macarena wing, a rear wing that opens up 270 degrees in the opposite direction to how F1 fans have become accustomed to seeing them flip up.

However, that wasn’t the only innovation that they had up their sleeves.

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The FIA have given Ferrari the ‘green light’ to use their Halo aero winglet

According to a report by F1 Technical, the FIA have given Ferrari the ‘green light’ to utilise a winglet on the Halo of the SF-26, deeming it fully legal.

The Scuderia turned heads at the Chinese Grand Prix after revealing the new innovation on Charles Leclerc’s car during Ferrari engineers’ practice pit stops on Thursday morning.

Despite passing initial scrutineering from the FIA’s Jo Bauer, the report states that Ferrari opted not to utilise the winglet after a rival team threatened to submit a formal protest over its legality.

Ferrari abandoned their Macarena rear wing before Sprint Qualifying due to reliability concerns

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With team principal Fred Vasseur apprehensive about conceding a Sprint weekend’s worth of points through a potential disqualification, they ultimately decided against the idea for the meaningful sessions of the Grand Prix.

Following the FIA’s ruling on the new part, it is now expected to make an appearance at the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix, as engineers in Maranello plan to ‘refine the concept further’.

While it won’t be game-changing, the benefits it could have for Leclerc and Hamilton are understood to be worth it. Mechanics are hoping to optimise the advantage by using ‘even thinner materials’ in order to maximise the aerodynamic gains.

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Ferrari are also planning to use their ‘Macarena’ rear wing at the Japanese Grand Prix

The Macarena wing is also expected to make a return on the SF-26 this weekend in Japan. After collecting some data with it at the Chinese Grand Prix, Ferrari engineers are now confident that it can provide Hamilton and Leclerc an advantage in Suzuka.

It was understood to be giving Ferrari’s current spec of F1 car an advantage of around 10kph when fully open. Now that they have been able to gather data with it, refinements are likely to have been made, aiding their star-studded driver line-up even further.

It’s clear that Fred Vasseur and co are trying everything they possibly can to bring a title back to Maranello, and the Japanese Grand Prix could prove to be a turning point in the championship landscape.