If pre-season testing is about learning, Ferrari decided to do it loudly.
Week 2, Day 2 in Bahrain delivered something nobody expected: an upside-down, rotating rear wing that looked less like a conventional DRS system and more like a rotisserie attachment. It was wild looking. It made people giggle. And within minutes, it became the most talked-about engineering experiment of the test.
The Rotisserie Rear Wing
Ferrari didn’t just tweak a flap, they rotated the entire upper element.
When upright, drag is high. When inverted, the slot between the elements expands significantly. By flipping the upper wing, Ferrari effectively increases the DRS-style slot opening without using the traditional central pillar mechanism. The result? A larger airflow channel, reduced drag, and, crucially, elimination of the centerline actuator unit.
It’s serious engineering. Actuators integrated into the endplates. Structural rigidity across a wide span with no central support. Carbon fiber stiff enough to pass FIA deflection tests. A design that appears extreme, aggressive, and radical, even by Ferrari standards.
The movement itself takes less than 400ms, which sounds slow until you consider that the actual time loss is only the incremental drag during the transition. Over a full straight, the drag reduction tradeoff likely makes the equation favorable. Ferrari’s engineers have done the math, we’re just watching it happen in public.
Some believe the slower actuation could actually help maintain balance compared to the sudden loss of downforce from traditional DRS. Others note the potential aero-braking effect as the wing closes under braking. There’s even speculation about diffuser interaction, wake clean-up, and how the inverted upper element’s airflow meets the floor’s upwash.
And yes, we considered whether it could rotate 360 degrees. We also considered whether it could cook chicken. That’s where testing conversations inevitably go.
But beneath the memes, the logic is simple: bigger slot, cleaner flow, reduced drag, new surface for sponsor logos. Ferrari maximizing engineering and marketing in one motion.
Whether it’s brilliance or just Bahrain theatre remains to be seen. The last time a radical testing concept showed up (zero-pod, anyone?), it didn’t end well. But this one feels different. This one feels intentional.
Starts That Look Like F1 Against F2
If the wing was the visual shock, Ferrari’s launches were the competitive one.
Another practice start. Another insane Hamilton launch. From as far back as the fifth row, he sliced forward like a 4WD machine compared to the rest of the field.
The key appears to be electric deployment timing. Ferrari are deploying electric power immediately upon hitting 50kph, while others are still harvesting. That second phase acceleration is where the real gains appear, almost Civic-with-a-laptop levels of VTEC energy.
There’s also evidence of shorter first gear ratios being tested. Some suggest Ferrari, Audi, and McLaren are experimenting here. Others wonder if gearbox reliability, particularly elsewhere, complicates the picture.
Because if Ferrari are mastering starts, Aston Martin are doing the opposite.
The Other Side of the Garage: Aston Martin’s Gearbox Drama
Another Aston Martin gearbox failure. This time it sounded like reverse gear in Turn 4.
It will probably enter the history books as “The Great Sandbagging of 2026,” the biggest diversion plot to distract from the greatest car ever designed. Or maybe it’s just fifth gear becoming reverse instead of third. Rookie mistake.
The Rover 827 of F1 cars. Triumph Stag energy. Honda V6 jokes flying everywhere, though to be fair, transmitting 1000bhp through what feels like a Ford Fiesta gearbox might be part of the issue.
Some believe heat dispersion could be the root cause. Others believe it’s simply testing gremlins. Either way, metal swarf grinding its way through Bahrain isn’t the headline Aston Martin were hoping for.
Meanwhile, even the Mustang safety car got attention. In testing, everything does.
The Pendulum of Ferrari Hope
If you want to understand Ferrari in pre-season, understand this: the pendulum has no center.
One minute it’s catastrophic despair. The next it’s “This Is Our Year™.”
Lewis Hamilton says he’s in the best place he’s been at Ferrari. The car carries his DNA. Charles Leclerc remains in his prime. Fans oscillate between parade planning and doom recursion.
Even if the car is fast, strategy still looms. Pit wall decisions remain the ever-present variable. Though to be fair, Ferrari were Pit Stop Champions last year.
The psychological reality of F1 is simple: every season feels like a blank slate. That’s the sport’s greatest trick. Hope is renewable. Trauma is recyclable.
The Engine Rumors and the Wolff Moment
In the background, rumors swirl, illegal engines, fuel standards, sandbagging conspiracies.
Toto Wolff dismissed the illegal engine claims as “bullshit.” He did so in a way that escalated rapidly and required mid-sentence self-correction. The video, apparently, is better than the quote. Sometimes testing drama extends beyond lap times.
But here’s the broader point: mentioned doesn’t mean involved. Context matters. And in F1, context often disappears faster than a rear wing flipping at 400ms.
The Numbers That Actually Matter
Amid the spectacle, the long runs told a quieter story.
On medium tires in comparable conditions:
- Norris: low 1:39s to low 1:40s
- Verstappen: low 1:39s to low 1:40s
- Russell: mid 1:37s to mid 1:38s
Verstappen gained five tenths in sectors 1 and 3 but lost it all in sector 2. Testing data is fragmented. Sector deltas can mask deployment strategies, fuel loads, or cooling experiments.
But it’s a reminder that while Ferrari dominate the headlines, Mercedes might quietly be setting the pace.
So… Is This The Year?
Ferrari now have:
- A rotisserie rear wing.
- Violent practice starts.
- Hopium levels peaking.
- And a fandom permanently conditioned by 2017, 2022, and everything in between.
We’ve seen this before. Australia 2022 felt lovely. We were hopeful. We remember how that went.
Testing exists in two worlds: vibes tunnel and wind tunnel. Ferrari are currently winning the vibes championship. Whether that translates to Australia remains the real question.
Just this once, they ask, let it be Our Year™.
Too late. The wing already flipped.