The American team is taking advantage of the opportunity provided by sharing the rear-end architecture of the SF-26. On the rear deformable structure, positioned in front of the central exhaust, Ferrari’s Flick Tail Mode concept has appeared in a reinterpretation developed by the engineers led by Andrea De Zordo. With the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, the era of hot-blown exhaust gases has effectively begun for Haas.
Haas was the only team that could realistically exploit the loophole discovered by Ferrari in the technical regulations, and unsurprisingly the American outfit moved quickly to replicate the idea developed by the Scuderia. Already at the second Grand Prix of the 2026 Formula 1 season, Haas arrived in Shanghai with its own interpretation of the FTM system. The concept revolves around a vertical flap designed to direct the hot exhaust gases in order to improve the aerodynamic efficiency of the Ferrari SF-26.
The implementation created by the engineering group led by Andrea De Zordo may be slightly less extreme than the version developed by the Scuderia Ferrari itself, but it is likely to enjoy many of the same benefits that the Maranello team has already gained from the solution, which first appeared during the opening session of the pre-season tests in Bahrain.
The 2026 technical regulations allow teams to install an aerodynamic element in the area of the rear deformable structure, provided that the overhang from the rear axle does not exceed 60 millimetres. Ferrari therefore designed the rear section of its car specifically to make the most of this opportunity. The exit of the differential and the half-shaft was deliberately positioned further back within the gearbox casing, allowing the team to incorporate the FTM system—an acronym for Flick Tail Mode—while fully respecting the maximum overhang of 60 millimetres.
Haas, which uses the Ferrari power unit, gearbox and rear suspension, finds itself in a unique position that allows it to adopt the interesting concept originally developed by the group of aerodynamicists led by Diego Tondi in collaboration with the chassis specialists working under Loic Serra.
The American team also benefits from having a technical office located inside the Scuderia Ferrari headquarters at Maranello, specifically in the building that houses the simulator and the indoor facility where mechanics carry out pit stop practice. Despite this close collaboration, Haas has implemented its own version of the system, which differs in several respects from the one seen on the SF-26.
The upper section of the rear deformable structure, close to the central single exhaust outlet, has been covered with a metallic material. Right at the trailing edge of the exhaust terminal—which is slightly inclined upward—a semi-frame structure has appeared that fairings the exhaust and introduces two small wing profiles designed to direct the hot airflow upwards.
The objective behind the solution is quite clear: to increase the efficiency both of the rear wing and of the air extraction effect generated by the diffuser. The version that has appeared on the VF-26 represents only an initial specification of the system, which in Maranello has already delivered very encouraging indications during early testing phases.
Ferrari and Haas, often described as “blood cousins” within the Formula 1 paddock due to their close technical ties, will now attempt to exploit a solution that rival teams will have little time to study or replicate in the short term.
It is also reasonable to ask why Cadillac, the second Ferrari customer team on the grid, cannot experiment with the FTM system. The explanation is relatively straightforward: the American team uses the Ferrari 067/6 power unit but not the Ferrari gearbox. As a result, Cadillac does not have a transmission architecture specifically designed to exploit Maranello’s clever interpretation of the regulations that made the Flick Tail Mode concept possible.
The appearance of the “Flick Tail Mode” on the Haas VF-26 marks a significant moment in the 2026 development race, proving that the technical partnership between Kannapolis and Maranello is stronger than ever. By utilizing the exhaust gases to “energize” the rear aerodynamics, Haas is essentially reviving a sophisticated version of the blown-diffuser concepts seen in previous decades, updated for the modern energy-recovery era. As the cars tackle the high-speed challenges of Shanghai, this extra bit of rear-end stability could be the deciding factor for Haas in the tight midfield battle. While Cadillac are locked out by their own hardware choices, Haas is perfectly placed to ride Ferrari’s coattails toward a major performance gain.
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