Lewis Hamilton puzzled by Ferrari’s rear wing decision but hints at when it may return – F1 China GP. Lewis Hamilton questions Ferrari’s decision to remove the ‘Macarena’ rear wing.

For the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, Ferrari decided to introduce the rear wing that rotates on itself—nicknamed the “Macarena” wing—but Lewis Hamilton admitted he did not fully understand the decision to remove it after the first free practice session in Shanghai. During Sprint Qualifying, both Ferrari drivers reverted to the specification that had already been used the previous week in Australia.

The solution, however, has not been definitively rejected by the Italian team. Ferrari will carry out further evaluations after analyzing the data collected during the Shanghai weekend, before eventually bringing a finalized version later in the season. Team principal Frédéric Vasseur also confirmed that some reliability checks were conducted on the component during free practice, which explains why it will not be used again for the remainder of the weekend.

Lewis Hamilton reacts to Ferrari’s rear wing decision

Speaking to F1TV at the end of the Chinese Sprint Qualifying session, Lewis Hamilton shared his perspective on the “Macarena” rear wing that Ferrari removed after FP1. The British driver also highlighted that the car still provided positive feedback overall, even though the gap to the Mercedes cars remained around six tenths of a second.

“I’m not really sure why we went back to the old wing. I think we pushed quite hard to bring it here, when actually it probably wasn’t planned before the fourth or fifth race, I think, or something like that,” the British driver said. “They did a great job to bring it forward, we only had two of them, and maybe it was a little bit too early, so we took it off.”

That likely means the new specification could reappear in a few races’ time, which had originally been the plan before the Chinese Grand Prix weekend. Lewis Hamilton still appreciated the performance of the car while waiting for the new version to be introduced permanently.

“The car was still working well, and we’ll keep working to try and bring it back when it’s ready.” – the British driver conclcuded.

Lewis Hamilton’s comments shed light on the logistical and technical pressures of the 2026 development race. Ferrari’s attempt to pull forward a major upgrade speaks to their urgency in closing the gap to the front-running Silver Arrows, but the decision to revert to the standard wing demonstrates a level of maturity in their championship pursuit. By prioritizing a “known quantity” for the crucial Sprint format, the British driver and his engineers can focus on maximizing their race-trim potential without the unpredictability of an experimental component. While the “Macarena” wing is back in its crate for now, the data gathered during those few laps in FP1 will be crucial for the engineers back in Maranello. If the team can resolve the reliability concerns by the time the European leg begins, this “premature” test could prove to be a vital building block in Ferrari’s fight to reclaim the top step of the podium.