Lewis Hamilton shows off BRAND NEW F1 feature for the first time

Lewis Hamilton drives the SF-26 for the first time — Photo: © IMAGO

Pre-Season Testing

Lewis Hamilton shows off BRAND NEW F1 feature for the first time

The SF-26 was launched on Friday morning

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Sunday 25 January 2026 17:55

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F1 drivers have a new toy!

As has been covered extensively, DRS is out for the 2026 season, and 'active aerodynamics' are in (they don't get a snappy name until they've been around for three races and the commentators get bored).

That means that we're going to see rear and front wings opening up in high speed sections of tracks – and we got to see that in action for the first time on Friday.

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Ferrari launched their SF-26 at their Maranello base ahead of next week's first pre-season shakedown test in Barcelona, with Lewis Hamilton showing off the new feature in a short run in front of the cameras.

New 'active aero' a surprise to see

It was hard for many to picture what the front wing feature would look like, but few envisaged it the way it's turned out – that the front wing basically disappears when the driver flips the switch for straight line speed. It's...quite a departure from how F1 cars normally look.

Sky Sports' Ted Kravitz was at the test and shared some further thoughts on the SF-26 afterward, saying: “It actually looks smaller, it looks different. There’s a bit more white on the engine cover as part of the team’s visual identity, which has changed a little bit for this year.

“But the thing I’ve noticed straight away is this opening of the rear wing, that we’re seeing all these cars doing this year, and the new engine sound, that’s really different.

“We started to hear this with the other big team that ran that car yesterday, Mercedes, but now that I’m seeing and more importantly, hearing it, on the Ferrari, it really does sound different. It sounds louder and more raspy.”

F1 HEADLINES: Ferrari launch NEW 2026 car as McLaren to miss testing

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