Source:REUTERS/Go Nakamura
[Saba Sports News] Ferrari’s flip rear wing, which stunned everyone during preseason testing, is planned to return at the F1 Japanese Grand Prix. Reportedly, Ferrari brought the flip wing to the Chinese Grand Prix and collected useful data, but the component was removed from the SF‑26 before the race. In Shanghai, Ferrari put on an exciting fight—Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc battled throughout. In the end Hamilton finished third, but was 25 seconds behind the winner Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Roughly calculated, that’s about 0.45 seconds per lap. For the only team so far appearing capable of challenging Mercedes’ dominance, that gap is substantial. The Chinese round also gave a clear signal: the SF‑26’s speed matched Mercedes in the first two sectors on the track, with nearly all the deficit coming on the straights. In light of this, Ferrari plans to deploy the flip wing at the Japanese Grand Prix in hopes of challenging Mercedes.
The columnist believes that at Suzuka, this wing could provide higher aerodynamic efficiency: reducing drag on sections where the wing is opened—an advantage that comes not only from integrating the actuation into one endplate but also from providing stronger downforce through the technical, multi‑corner sections.