Ferrari to run its radical 'upside-down' wing at Chinese GP
Ferrari’s innovative ‘upside down’ Formula 1 rear wing will appear at a 2026 race weekend for the first time at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Ferrari grabbed the headlines in pre-season testing with its unique rear wing design that appeared to rotate roughly 225 degrees clockwise.
It caught the attention of both rival teams and the FIA (which gave its legality an "OK"), but didn’t appear at the Melbourne season opener.
But Ferrari has brought the ‘upside down’ rear wing to this weekend's Shanghai sprint event and will test it during the first (and only) practice session of the weekend on Friday.
It will then make a decision whether it stays on the car for sprint qualifying later that day.
It’s likely Shanghai, with its long back straight, was a more natural fit for the unique wing, than Melbourne, with its kinked high-speed long run from Turn 6 to Turn 9 - not the ideal place for a uniquely functioning rear wing.
Hamilton praised Ferrari for accelerating the development of the wing, as its race weekend debut was earlier than initially planned.
"I'm so grateful for the team to work because it was actually supposed to be later down the line and they worked really hard to develop it and get it brought here," Hamilton said on Thursday in China.
"So that for me is just, it's great to see that the team are fighting, the team are pushing and chasing and really working overtime back at the factory to be able to bring the upgrades. That's the name of the game.
"Last year, I didn't get to see the team's full potential in that mode because we were focused on this year's car."
And as for what the wing should be called...
"I don’t know if it has an official name," Hamilton said.
"Someone said Macarena…I have no idea why. It’s the flip-flop wing!"
