Everything is ready for the grand debut of Ferrari’s “Macarena” wing for the F1 Miami GP. During the month-long forced break, the Maranello team made many updates to the Ferrari SF-26, and some of these have been copied by the competition. A positive sign that shows how the Prancing Horse is once again seen as a fearsome rival this season.
Ferrari F1 Macarena Wing: technical updates on the SF-26
Filming day at Monza. Closed doors and maximum secrecy. Here, a new beginning was established for the SF-26 which, after only three races in the championship, used the April break as a testing ground for many updates to be fitted on the Ferrari SF-26. Hamilton and Leclerc’s car was spotted at the Temple of Speed with multiple innovations and innovative aerodynamic packages that will debut in Miami. A particular solution, given the single Free Practice 1 session (increased from 60 to 90 minutes) and the morphology of the street circuit.
At Monza, the long straights provided great help in gathering the data collected during the tests. From this, it emerged that Ferrari’s “Macarena” wing has been significantly improved, enough to be introduced in the race. Among the other innovations seen on the SF-26, a small element stands out above the car’s mobile profiles, which helps to better channel the aerodynamic flows.
But it doesn’t end there: the endplates are characterized by a sharper geometry, while the wing profiles seem to have been revised to improve overall efficiency without abandoning the spoon design.
However, the rear wing requires worthy and resistant supports, which is why a significant update was made to the support pillars, which have been lengthened towards the rear. A clever solution with a dual function: increasing rigidity and managing airflow in the lower area.
As mentioned, the Maranello team worked very hard on the SF-26, leaving nothing to chance and taking care of even the smallest details. The mobile flap actuator has been modified, an important signal towards the development of opening and closing, essential for the correct functioning of the Macarena wing.
The doubt remains: Macarena wing ready for debut
The Macarena wing has been the turning point of this first part of the Formula 1 season. Seen during pre-season testing in Bahrain, it left all the insiders speechless because the potential is truly enormous (in fact, Red Bull has also developed its own version). The point is that until now Ferrari has never used it in a race because it was unreliable, especially in the closing phase.
The work focused precisely on this aspect: ensuring the correct functioning of the Macarena wing without affecting reliability and putting driver safety at risk, especially by increasing aerodynamic stability in the critical and delicate braking phases.
Therefore, another improvement was made to the Ferrari SF-26’s braking system, which is now more effective, especially in view of the changes made to the technical regulations. The car should now be more effective in the hard braking phases, ensuring the necessary stability that was missing for the use of the Macarena wing.
Whether the updates will work or not, we just have to wait for the start of the weekend in Miami. The choice to introduce such abundant technical updates could be criticized given the nature of the American street circuit as well as the presence of only one Free Practice session due to the Sprint weekend format.