F1 Testing 2026: 'F*** what happened? Star stunned by Lewis Hamilton trick

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, 2026, Social — Photo: © IMAGO

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'F*** what happened? F1 star stunned by Lewis Hamilton trick

That Ferrari rear wing raised all the eyebrows in Bahrain testing

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Friday 20 February 2026 09:15

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Lewis Hamilton used his limited running in the SF-26 on Thursday morning to flaunt a brand new trick adopted by Ferrari in Bahrain.

The seven-time champion took over driving duties for the entirety of the second day in the final week of pre-season testing in Sakhir, but spent the majority of the morning sidelined as his new Ferrari car sat behind a privacy screen in the garage.

After sitting out of the session for almost three hours, the 41-year-old got back out on track, but finished the first half of the penultimate testing day with just five laps to his name.

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But despite the unknown issue hampering the Scuderia's track running, the Italian squad still managed to get the whole paddock talking after Hamilton's car demonstrated a rather radical rear wing early on in the day.

F1 HEADLINES: Hamilton questioned as Ferrari take advantage of 2026 'loophole'

Ferrari's rotating rear wing leaves rivals in shock

Early on Thursday, Hamilton took to the track in his new Ferrari which, as eagle-eyed F1 technical analyst Sam Collins quickly pointed out, featured a new rear wing which not only opened on the straight but also rotated 180 degrees.

The Scuderia appear to have found a clever loophole in the F1 regulations which don't explicitly state that the wing has to be mounted the right way up when the active aero is deployed.

This allowed them to debut the upside down rear wing as Hamilton drove down the straight at the Bahrain International Circuit, before coming back out for the afternoon session without the new device on show.

Ferrari's interpretation of the rules has left their rivals in shock, with British F1 star Ollie Bearman admitting he initially thought the wing was broken when he first saw it complete it's 180-degree rotation on Hamilton's car.

Bearman, who drives for Ferrari's customer team Haas, was quoted by The Race as saying on Thursday: "'I was behind Lewis and I saw it and I was like, f*** what happened?

"I thought it was broken, but honestly, it's super innovative."

Despite their rear wing quickly becoming the talk of the paddock in Bahrain, Ferrari aren't necessarily adopting it for the 2026 campaign, and may continue to assess its performance across the final day of testing when Charles Leclerc gets back behind the wheel.

When does the 2026 F1 season start?

The final day of pre-season testing takes place in Bahrain on Friday, February 20.

All 11 teams will then be back in action when the 2026 season starts in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix. The first race of the year takes place on March 8 at 3pm local time (AEDT), 4am GMT, and 11pm ET.

F1 Testing 2026: Bahrain driver lineups and team schedules

F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Ollie Bearman