Ferrari has quietly parked its innovative rotating rear wing and reverted to a conventional configuration on its SF-26 for the remainder of the weekend in Shanghai.
The radical component – dubbed the ‘Macarena’ wing and first spotted during pre-season testing – appeared on both cars during Friday’s lone practice outing, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton tasked with evaluating it ahead of the sprint weekend’s competitive sessions.
But by the time sprint qualifying began later in the day, the experiment was already over.
Early Promise, Lingering Questions
The Scuderia’s rotating rear wing, which has generated significant curiosity in the paddock, allows the entire upper plane assembly to rotate a full 180°, theoretically optimizing aerodynamic balance between straights and corners in a way traditional drag-reduction solutions cannot.
But this weekend’s Sprint format in Shanghai left the team with just one practice session to assess the idea in proper running conditions. During that session, Hamilton experienced a spin when approaching Turn 6 after the wing closed under braking.
Over team radio, the seven-time world champion offered a brief explanation: the brakes had locked.
Despite the moment, sources suggest Ferrari was not alarmed by the wing’s basic functionality. In fact, the team is believed to have been broadly satisfied with its performance relative to the standard rear wing and encouraged by its reliability in limited running.
The real concern was different: whether the concept was ready to withstand the demands of a full race weekend.
Hamilton: ‘Maybe a little bit premature’
Hamilton hinted that the decision to abandon the upgrade for the remainder of the event was largely precautionary rather than a sign of failure.
“I don't really know why we went back on it,” Hamilton commented. “I think we rushed it to get it here and it was not supposed to be on the cards until I think it was race four or five or something like that. So they did a great job to rush it here.
“We only had two of them and it was maybe a little bit premature. So we took it off. The car was still great and we'll work to try and bring it back when it's ready.”
Read also: Leclerc rages at Ferrari power loss in Shanghai Sprint qualifyingThe seven-time world champion’s remarks suggest the wing’s Shanghai debut may have come earlier than originally planned, leaving Ferrari without the confidence to commit to it across sprint qualifying, the sprint race, and Sunday’s grand prix.
Another key factor reportedly eased the decision: even if the concept delivered gains, they were unlikely to be transformative enough to justify the risk.
For now, Ferrari has returned to the rear wing specification previously used in Melbourne while engineers in Maranello continue studying the data gathered in China.
With the next round taking place at the Japanese Grand Prix in two weeks, the question now is whether the rotating wing will return there – or whether Ferrari will take more time to perfect one of the season’s most ambitious aerodynamic ideas.
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