The Formula 1 season remains a battle of engineering as much as speed. In the Shanghai Grand Prix paddock, attention is focused on a technical innovation developed by Ferrari, nicknamed the “Macarena wing” by the media, which could help the Italian team narrow the performance gap with rival Mercedes-AMG.

The component, designed at Ferrari’s Maranello headquarters, was first seen during pre-season testing in Bahrain and has now arrived in Shanghai, potentially making its official race debut this weekend. British driver Lewis Hamilton revealed that the new aerodynamic element arrived earlier than expected. “It wasn’t planned to have it here yet,” he said. “I thank the team for the effort: we tested it for a day, and it seems to work.”

The nickname refers to the unusually wide movement of the rear wing flap. While traditional Drag Reduction System (DRS) flaps rotate around 90 degrees to reduce drag and increase speed on straights, Ferrari’s new design allows the flap to rotate up to 270 degrees, nearly flipping completely. This extended motion is expected to reduce aerodynamic drag further, potentially increasing top speed by 5–8 km/h in faster sections of the track.

The component has already been installed on the SF-26 cars driven by Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, with testing scheduled during Friday practice sessions. Engineers will decide whether to use the device for the entire race weekend based on the data collected on track.