F1 | What is the real issue with Ferrari SF-26’s new “Macarena” rear wing? A technical analysis. Ferrari’s new “Macarena” rear wing for the SF-26 struggled in China due to aerodynamic and reliability issues.

The new “Macarena” rear wing brought by Ferrari for the Chinese Grand Prix was shelved after FP1 and sent back to Maranello for further development: so what really went wrong?

The debut of the new “Macarena” wing on the SF-26 in China was highly anticipated but ultimately fell short of expectations, indicating that the extreme solution developed by Ferrari’s engineers still requires refinement. The sprint weekend, which only allows a single practice session, did not help the team carry out all the comparison and setup fine-tuning tests, forcing Ferrari to approach qualifying with several unresolved doubts.

Even in China, Ferrari had not planned an official race debut for the wing: the team aimed to conduct an additional test that, if successful, could have been extended to the rest of the weekend. Fred Vasseur confirmed that during FP1 the focus was primarily on reliability testing to collect data before making a final decision.

What went wrong with the Ferrari SF-26 “Macarena” rear wing?

The rear wing brought to China retains the same design seen during testing in Bahrain, but Ferrari introduced some invisible structural modifications. One of the main challenges relates to reliability: engineering a rear wing like this with a single actuator capable of withstanding extremely high stresses—especially when the wing is in a vertical position—is far from simple.

The main issue that slowed the SF-26 during FP1 was the synchronization between the front and rear flaps. In the standard aerodynamic configuration, the front and rear flaps close simultaneously. With the “Macarena” wing, the timing changes significantly: when the front flaps have already returned to position, the rear flaps are still completing their rotation, which can reach about 270 degrees.

This discrepancy generates an aerodynamic imbalance that inevitably lightens the rear of the car. The load variation between the two axles, combined with the forward load transfer under braking, creates a car imbalance on corner entry, making life extremely difficult for the drivers. Under these conditions, the rear becomes highly sensitive, and such a marked reduction in rear load can lead to loss of control and spins, as seen by Lewis Hamilton in FP1.

While this wing certainly offers some performance benefits, Ferrari still needs to optimize it. For this reason, the team decided not to use it in the race, opting to complete development first and prepare for an official debut in upcoming events.