During the second day of the 2026 Pirelli tire tests, Ferrari deployed the SF-25 mule car driven by Charles Leclerc, equipped with a very low downforce front wing featuring a prototype system designed to test the movable flaps that will be mandated by next year’s regulations. The Italian team collected data using two different configurations.
Ferrari is still recovering from Charles Leclerc’s fourth place finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he started from pole position, but the Scuderia is dedicating significant effort and attention to analyzing the 2026 Pirelli tires.
It is no coincidence that Ferrari decided to convert an SF-25 into a mule car, whereas previously they had provided Pirelli with an SF-24, the car used last season.
This modification, first seen during the Fiorano tests on June 19 and 20 with 2026 wet tires tested by Guanyu Zhou and Charles Leclerc, suggested the possibility of evaluating how the car behaves with a pull-rod suspension setup instead of the previous push-rod design, possibly considering synergies with next year’s more agile car.
Later, the FIA authorized teams through a specific technical directive to install an actuator to test the front active wing. This allowed Pirelli to study how the tire behavior changes when the two movable flaps open and close in corners.
Ferrari studied the issue by relocating the height adjuster of the last flap from the outer side to the inside of the element. Moreover, the angle adjustment can now only be done manually with a screwdriver by a mechanic adjusting a screw to change the resistance.
On the front wing Ferrari used in Hungary on Wednesday during the second day of testing organized by the sole supplier, the manual control seems to have disappeared, replaced by a more complex system that could be hydraulically activated. It is possible Ferrari tested a prototype solution that is unrelated to the system that will be used on the 678 car.
If this is the case, Charles Leclerc had the unique privilege of manually activating the front active wing himself during testing, providing him and the engineers with the first important insights into one of the novel aerodynamic concepts we can expect to see on Formula 1 cars in the next season. Meanwhile, several other teams have opted not to invest budget cap resources in testing a front wing system that differs substantially from the one planned for the 2026 season. These teams deemed that the information gathered from such tests would have limited value or relevance.
Nevertheless, within Ferrari’s Racing Department, there is a clear understanding that there can be no room for error as the team prepares to enter a fundamentally new regulatory era in Formula 1. As a result, they have chosen to proactively invest in future technologies and collaborate closely with Pirelli, the tire supplier. This approach demonstrates a high level of strategic clarity and foresight, emerging during what could otherwise be described as a challenging or uncertain phase for the team and the sport.
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