Ferrari fast-tracks striking 'Macarena' rear wing concept for Chinese GP

Just a few weeks ago in Sakhir, Ferrari left the paddock stunned when it rolled out during one of the Bahrain testing mornings with a rear-wing concept never before seen in Formula 1 - a design in which the entire main plane of the wing rotates slightly around its own axis, altering its angle of attack relative to the airflow.

The concept brings significant aerodynamic advantages, as it effectively recreates a DRS-like effect, but instead of opening a flap it is achieved by rotating the wing profile itself, delivering greater aerodynamic efficiency and, as a result, a significantly higher top speed.

The solution - which required lengthy discussions with the FIA to ensure it complied with the regulations - was only run once in an experimental form, before Ferrari reverted to a more conventional rear wing, the same specification that was also used during the opening round of the season in Melbourne.

Italian outlet Autoracer recently reported that Ferrari has fast-tracked its plans, deciding to ship the new rear wing - updated from the experimental version - in time for this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.

GPblog has investigated the matter and can confirm that three different specifications of the rear wing first seen in Bahrain will be introduced in Shanghai, after the design received final approval from the FIA.

However, the timing of its introduction is not the most convenient, given the limited track time available during the first Sprint weekend of the season. With just 60 minutes of practice scheduled, teams will have only a single free practice session before heading straight into sprint qualifying.

For now, it remains unclear what Ferrari’s plan is. The Scuderia could choose to run the wing during FP1 and then decide whether to carry it through the rest of the weekend, or alternatively shelve it for the time being in order to gather more data before introducing it properly at upcoming rounds.