Ferrari holds back Macarena wing at Suzuka, testing continues in Maranello. Ferrari brings the Macarena wing to Suzuka but decides not to run it in free practice.

The cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix altered the development plans previously outlined by Loic Serra, Ferrari’s technical director of chassis. This break in the calendar allows the Maranello team to focus on the updates scheduled for later in the season. Charles Leclerc openly admitted that he does not expect Ferrari to close the gap with Mercedes at the Honda-owned circuit, but the team hopes to narrow the deficit to the W17 cars of Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell in time for the Miami Grand Prix on May 3, where a weight reduction will bring the SF-26 closer to the regulatory minimum.

The Macarena wing will continue its development on Maranello’s static test bench. Currently in its first development stage, the solution still needs to pass all reliability tests before it can be refined and corrected for track use. In the “base” configuration, the wing showed a maximum speed gain when fully deployed, but instability was observed during the closing phase. Lap times with the front wing did not always correlate perfectly, resulting in a slight imbalance before the critical braking points.

It would be incorrect to consider this a failure; it is more accurately described as fine-tuning. Ferrari also brought a new Halo-mounted flap made from a new material, but it is uncertain whether it will appear on the car during free practice, as the component is planned for later use.

Meanwhile, Ferrari engineers have focused on optimizing the 067/6 power unit, aiming to improve battery recharge capacity, which currently lags behind Mercedes in direct comparison. No radical changes have been made, nor any deviation from Ferrari’s engine philosophy, but the team is attempting to exploit the internal combustion engine even more aggressively. Fans and analysts will be watching closely to see how these incremental developments translate on track.

Ferrari is playing a long game by prioritizing reliability and internal correlation over immediate track experiments. Based on the content of their current development plan, the Scuderia is banking on a much stronger showing in Florida once their weight-saving and aero-sync issues are resolved.