Ferrari's radical rear wing steals spotlight despite Norris setting fastest Bahrain test time
Lando Norris topped the morning timesheet in Bahrain, but all attention was on a radical new Ferrari rear wing that flips upside down on straights for extreme drag reduction, though Lewis Hamilton's running with it was severely limited.
Lando Norris set the fastest lap of F1's Bahrain pre-season test, but the session was dominated by intrigue over a radical new Ferrari rear wing design that flips completely upside down on the straights. The innovative active aerodynamics solution, seen on Lewis Hamilton's car, aims for a significant drag reduction but was followed by a limited running for the seven-time champion.
Why it matters:
Ferrari's aggressive push with extreme aerodynamic concepts signals a team willing to explore bold, high-reward solutions to close the gap to Red Bull. While outright lap times in testing are often misleading, such a visible and unconventional innovation provides a clear glimpse into a team's technical philosophy and risk appetite for the new season, potentially offering a tangible performance advantage if it proves reliable.
The details:
- The Lap Time: McLaren's Lando Norris set the benchmark with a 1m33.453s on the C4 tyre, just 0.006s faster than George Russell's best from Wednesday.
- The Innovation: Ferrari debuted an extreme active rear wing on the SF-26. When DRS is activated on straights, the main plane of the wing flips over 180 degrees to a completely inverted position, a stark contrast to conventional designs that simply open a slot gap.
- The design philosophy is focused on achieving maximum possible drag reduction for straight-line speed.
- Limited Running: Despite the buzz, Lewis Hamilton's morning was cut short after only five laps in the first 90 minutes, leaving the team with valuable data to analyze but limited track time for the driver.
- Session Order: Max Verstappen and George Russell followed Norris on the timesheets, with Alex Albon (Williams), Ollie Bearman (Haas), and Franco Colapinto (Alpine) rounding out the top six in the morning. Valtteri Bottas and Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber had another slow start with only two installation laps.
What's next:
The focus will now shift to the afternoon session and the final day of testing on Friday to see if Ferrari continues to run its revolutionary rear wing and gathers more data. The true test of its effectiveness and, crucially, its reliability will come at next week's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. Teams will now begin their final analyses, turning testing data into race weekend setups and strategies.