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Ferrari Flip wing - F1 During Formula 1's recent pre-season test in Bahrain , Ferrari debuted an interesting design tweak that nobody else has implemented, but caught the attention of everyone in the paddock and fans worldwide. When the Ferrari SF-26 enters "Straight Mode," a low-downforce and low-drag setup that can only be used in prescribed zones of each track, the rear wing did a little dance and blew everyone away. Where all of the other teams implemented a simple actuation system similar to last year's Drag Reduction System regulations, Ferrari flipped everything on its head.
Ferrari tested it again in practice ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend, though opted not to run it in the race. Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur says it'll come back for the Japanese Grand Prix next week. When the new set of F1 regulations made its on-track debut in pre-season testing, it looked like Ferrari really had the run of the field.
The new higher-horsepower engines and lighter weight chassis are better suited to on-track performance, and Ferrari knows a thing or two about engineering for speed. Everyone started speculating about the efficacy of the new flipping wing as soon as Ferrari showed it for the first time, but all of that speculation kind of died down when the team arrived at the first race of the season in Australia with a traditional rear wing element. Canal+ in the lead up to Sprint Qualifying asked Vasseur why the flippy wing had been removed for the remainder of the event.
"Well, we removed it," joked Vasseur. "No, it's just that we need to do some testing to make it reliable, and the only way to test right now is during FP1 sessions. So, we'll put it back on in FP1 in Japan and we'll see when we'll introduce it permanently.
" Read more: 383 Stroker Engine: Why The Chevy Small Block Is Still A Muscle Car Favorite Do the Macarena Ferrari Macarena wing - The Race When the wing is static in the so-called Corner Mode, it looks like a regular F1 wing split into two elements. In Straight Mode, the upper element can be opened to create a gap between the upper and lower elements, letting air through the two, rather than forcing it up and over the top of the upper element. Theoretically Ferrari's upper wing flipping to be upside-down while in Straight Mode could further stall out the wing and make the wing all but disappear to the air rushing around it, potentially lowering downforce and drag even more at top speed.
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