Ferrari brought an innovative rotating rear wing called the Macarena to the Chinese Grand Prix, and Lewis Hamilton is proud of his team for “pushing and chasing” the upgrade early in the season.
The Scuderia caused a stir when it unveiled its SF-26 car’s unique rear wing design for the first time on the penultimate day of testing in Bahrain last month.
Instead of the usual method of flattening the upper element of the rear wing to reduce drag when the car is in straight-line mode, Ferrari’s design rotates into an upside-down position.
The design did not make it to last week’s season opener in Australia, but was spotted in the car’s pit lane ahead of this weekend’s sprint week at the Shanghai International Circuit, which features one of the longest straights on the calendar at 1.1km, where straight-line speed is key.
“I practiced on the wing for about a day, so I think I got all the runs I needed,” Hamilton said of his first test run.
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Lewis Hamilton thinks it will be difficult to beat Mercedes’ pace at this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix
“And I’m very grateful to the team, it was actually supposed to come much later, but they worked so hard to develop it and bring it here.
“So it’s great to see the team fighting, pushing and chasing and working some serious overtime back at the factory to bring in upgrades, because that’s the name of the game.”
“I don’t think we were able to maximize the team’s potential in that mode last year because we were focused on this year’s car.”
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Check out Ferrari’s innovative upside-down rear wing on the second day of final testing in Bahrain.
As for whether he noticed a change when he ran Wings (now called the Macarena after the 1990s dance sensation) in Bahrain, Hamilton said: “Unfortunately it was the same. You just look in the mirror.”
“So I’m looking forward to seeing what happens here.”
“It’s not an irreversible gap” – Will Ferrari move closer to Mercedes in China?
Ferrari arrived in Shanghai looking to build on a competitive start to a new era in F1 in Melbourne last week, finishing third and fourth behind the Mercedes drivers.
While the Scuderia drivers pushed eventual race winner George Russell hard in the early stages of the Melbourne race, before the virtual safety car introduced strategies, Hamilton said his old team’s 0.8 second qualifying advantage showed the sheer gap Ferrari had to close.
“We knew Mercedes looked very strong, but little did we know there would be such a big difference,” Hamilton said.
“Closing this gap is not impossible, but it will require a full commitment and I am confident that our team will return to the factory and do everything in its power to close that gap.”
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Hear how Charles Leclerc compares his epic duel with George Russell to a Mario Kart mushroom.
Hamilton won last year’s sprint race in China in Ferrari’s best result of his career to date, and although he ruled out a win against Mercedes this weekend, he was hoping for further progress.
“It’s too early to say that and secondly, we were eight tenths slower in qualifying for the last race,” he added.
“The performance of the car has not improved by eight-tenths in four days. It will still be very difficult to beat Mercedes this weekend. We also have to assume that other teams will pick up the pace, with McLaren and second-placed Red Bull joining the fight as well.”
“We just need to focus on doing the best job we can and getting the most out of the car.”
He added: “It’s not eight-tenths of a second, but I’m hoping I can get a little more out of the car this weekend. So I’m really looking forward to the weekend.”
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Join Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc as they get off to a great start in Australia
Teammate Charles Leclerc, who had a thrilling early battle for the lead with Russell last Sunday, believes the longer race distance will once again offer Ferrari their best chance of challenging the Silver Arrows at the moment.
“It will take a lot of effort to change their advantage in qualifying,” Leclerc said.
“Eight-tenths of a second in Melbourne was really big, but I don’t think I’ll be able to get any closer here.
“Certainly in the near term things will be even better because there are things that we are optimizing that we haven’t yet in Melbourne, but Melbourne still has a big advantage.
“We’re close in the race so I hope we can put a little more pressure on from this weekend.”
Sky Sports F1 China GP Schedule
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A look back at the wildest moments captured on camera at the Chinese Grand Prix
Friday, March 13th
1:05am: F1 Academy practice
3:00am: Chinese GP Practice (session starts at 3:30am)*
5:30am: Team boss press conference*
6am: F1 Academy Qualifying*
6:45am: Chinese GP Sprint Qualifying (session starts at 7:30am)*
Saturday, March 14th
2:25am: Chinese GP sprint build-up*
3am: Chinese GP Sprint*
4.30am: Ted’s Sprint Notes*
5:30am: F1 Academy Race 1*
6:30am: Chinese GP qualifying build-up*
7am: Chinese GP Qualifying*
9am: Ted’s Qualification Notebook*
Sunday March 15th
2:35am: F1 Academy Race 2*
5:30am: Preparation for Chinese Grand Prix: Grand Prix Sunday*
7am: Chinese Grand Prix*
9am: Chinese GP reaction: Checkered flag*
10am: Ted’s Notes*
*Also held at Sky Sports Main Event
F1 will hold its first sprint weekend of the 2026 season in Shanghai starting this Friday with the Chinese Grand Prix, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
