Ferrari’s new front wing featured updates that went beyond the FIA directive. Ferrari debuted a revised front wing at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Ferrari arrived in Spain with an updated front wing that complied with the new FIA directive—but also introduced additional technical innovations.

The Spanish Grand Prix took place, and like all teams, Ferrari had to redesign its front wing to pass the new FIA tests aimed at reducing the maximum allowable flex of wing profiles. The Scuderia did not bring a full upgrade package to Barcelona, only the modifications required to meet the updated technical regulations.

Although the new front wing looked externally similar to the previous version, its internal construction had been revised. The carbon fiber layers were laid out differently during production, a change that gave the wing profiles greater stiffness and thus reduced flexibility.

The chord length of the second element was also modified: the second flap, starting from the bottom, had a larger surface area. This was not only to meet aerodynamic requirements but likely also to ensure a structurally stronger wing profile. The increased chord size forced engineers to slightly revise the geometry of the third and fourth elements, addressing both structural reinforcement needs and changes in airflow management.

While there were no major visible geometric differences in the design of the four wing profiles, Ferrari had put considerable work into the endplate and the anchoring points of the third and fourth elements.

New endplate to recover efficiency

Around the endplate area, Ferrari engineers introduced notable aerodynamic upgrades not directly mandated by the new directive, although likely influenced by it.

The endplate now featured a revised geometry, previously seen on the Haas car. The connection between the third and fourth flaps and the endplate also received updates. The objective was to increase the outwash effect, likely in response to the new, less flexible behavior of the front wing. It appeared that Ferrari aimed to recover aerodynamic efficiency in areas still permitted under the regulations, compensating for what was lost due to the structural changes.

Observers noted that Ferrari had been the most conservative team when adopting a flexible wing and one of the last to introduce it. For this reason, the team might not have suffered a significant performance loss—but judgments were reserved until the race weekend concluded.