Ferrari caused a stir during the penultimate test day in Bahrain with a radical new rear wing design. Lewis Hamilton’s SF-26 was equipped with a spoiler flap that rotated 180 degrees on the straights to let more air through. In the corners, the wing closed again to generate extra downforce. It caused quite a stir in the paddock, although former driver David Coulthard suspects that Ferrari mainly wanted to create a smokescreen.
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Once Ferrari showed the rotating concept, images of the rear wing immediately went viral. After all, a spoiler flap that can rotate fully open means significantly less drag on the straights. However, Coulthard remains skeptical. The fact that Ferrari has not used the wing since then makes him suspect that it was merely a diversionary tactic towards the competition.
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“It could be pure distraction,” said Coulthard in the Up to Speed podcast. “This was a small side project, intended to put the other teams to work. They have now engaged their design departments to investigate the potential benefits, which means they can no longer put that time into the current car.” The question remains to what extent Ferrari will actually apply the rotating concept during the season, although at first glance it could make a substantial difference on fast circuits like Monza, Las Vegas and Jeddah.
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