Vasseur calls rivals copying Ferrari's SF-26 aero designs 'a good reward' for Maranello

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says seeing rival teams replicate the SF-26’s aerodynamic innovations is validation for the engineers and designers at Maranello who were encouraged to push boundaries under the new 2026 regulations.

The SF-26 arrived at winter testing in Bahrain with two headline innovations. The first was a winglet attached to the structure behind the exhaust — internally dubbed the Flick Tail Mode (FTM) — which generates additional rear downforce at the cost of a small drag penalty. The second was a rotating rear wing, nicknamed the Macarena wing, which flips 180 degrees between corner mode and straight-line mode.

Both devices have since attracted imitation across the paddock. The exhaust winglet proved particularly difficult to reverse-engineer because Ferrari designed surrounding rear-end components specifically around it. The FIA has since closed the technical regulation loophole that permitted the exhaust device, banning it from 2027 to prevent further escalation. The inverted rear wing, meanwhile, has been adopted by Red Bull and trialled by McLaren.

McLaren technical director Neil Houldey acknowledged his team was caught off guard. “We were disappointed not to pick that up as quickly as Ferrari did and then Red Bull,” he said. “As soon as we saw it, we realised there was an opportunity there.”

Vasseur, speaking to Motorsport.com, said the imitation was a meaningful signal for the individuals who conceived the ideas. “I’m not there to have compliments. I’m there because I want to win. The best compliment for me is to go on the podium,” he said. “But yes, it’s true that for the guys in the team, to see Red Bull coming with the wing — and I think probably Red Bull started before seeing our wings — but the others starting to copy it, or even the device on the exhaust, for the guys in the team who had the idea it’s a good reward.”

The SF-26 is the first Ferrari conceived under technical director Loic Serra, who was signed in 2023 and joined from Mercedes. Despite a well-documented power unit deficit, the car has been widely regarded as the strongest chassis on the grid. Charles Leclerc took victory at Silverstone and Lewis Hamilton won in Barcelona following a run of upgrades, leaving Ferrari second in the Constructors’ Championship.