Ferrari Shock F1 With Rotating Rear Wing in Bahrain Testing- and Why It’s Legal

In the latest Bahrain testing for the up and coming season, Ferrari have come up with something we have never seen before in Formula One.

We have seen the new ‘active aero’ take place in testing, with every team trying something different with their new rear wings. Alpine seemed to take on a ‘flatter’ style of wing, which they use the front mounted hinges to achieve this, when activating their “X mode” or “Straight Mode” (which has replaced Drag Reduction System mode).

However it seems Ferrari has seen something in the rule book that others have not. By supporting a rear upper wing flap which rotates 270 degrees when the car is in ‘straight mode’.

But how is this legal? There is two main rules that the Scuderria has had to follow in order for their newest innovation to be legal. The first being the interval, as long as the rear wing moves between its two positions in the legal limit of 0.4 seconds.

The second rule is Article C3. 11.1 (e) as the FIA states “Rear wing profiles’ bodywork must in any Y-Plane, contain: no concave radius of curvature visible from bellow and no concave radius of curvature less than 100mm visible from above.”

An on-board look at THAT Ferrari rear wing 👀 pic.twitter.com/9ttvQXMug2

— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) February 19, 2026

In English, this means that the elements viewed from the “Y Plane” there must not be any concave wing elements seen from the underside of the car.

The way that Ferrari have been able to secure there wing not being seen from underneath the car is by their floor and diffuser components, which help conceal the rear wing. This then renders their new radically rotating rear wing legal.

We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves however, as it has been stated as an idea used in testing, meaning they will assess the wing through different tests in Bahrain before its lights out in Melbourne.

Maybe it is the year of the horse after all.