(Motorsport-Total.com) – When Ferrari took to the track in February 2026 for the official start of the winter tests in Bahrain, the Scuderia’s SF-26 immediately attracted attention. The car showed a fascinating guide surface behind the exhaust pipe on the first day, internally called FTM, and debuted the next day with an even more striking rear wing that rotated 180 degrees and was dubbed the “Macarena wing.”
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The exhaust guide surface and the upside-down rear wing are just the tip of the iceberg. They are two elements that have only a minor impact on performance but received a lot of attention from the public due to their strong visibility. However, they showed a Ferrari team that is leading in innovation rather than lagging behind its rivals.
Since then, Red Bull and McLaren have introduced their own versions of the rotating rear wing. Red Bull is said to have started its development independently of Ferrari, while McLaren realized it had missed an opportunity when it discovered Ferrari’s solution and began developing its own version.
Ferrari’s exhaust wing has also been widely copied, albeit less effectively, as the Italian team made specific design decisions at the rear of the car to enable it, making the FTM difficult to replicate.
Ferrari’s fascinatingly innovative 2026 car is no coincidence. It is the result of a deliberate initiative by team principal Frederic Vasseur to further eliminate the blame culture and get Maranello to be less afraid of taking risks.
Vasseur knows: It can’t always work out
In an exclusive interview with the global edition of Motorsport.com, Vasseur explains that the team needs a mindset change at every level, not just in aerodynamic design, to leave less performance unused.
“It’s true that from day one I felt we needed to take more risks,” reveals Vasseur, specifying: “More risk on the track, more risk in innovation, in development, to take a different direction than the others, not to follow the others.”
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Whether in design, setup choice, or race strategy – these risks do not always pay off, and there have been examples this year of Ferrari going in the wrong direction. But Vasseur is convinced that his team’s decision-making will improve the longer it embraces its bold mentality.
“Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn’t,” he says, explaining: “If you are strategically aggressive, sometimes you are a genius, like in Barcelona, and sometimes not. But we are the same people at the pit wall.”
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“I think we need to develop this mentality because you get better at taking risks. You get better at risk assessment. You get better at the ability to make decisions. That means we have to keep going, and we will get better and better from race to race.”
Ferrari should “lead” the field, not follow
Changing corporate culture takes time, which is why it has taken so much of Vasseur’s focus since he took office in early 2023. But innovation in the factory also carries potential pitfalls. Given the cost cap and development restrictions, teams cannot just throw ideas—and money—around randomly and see what works.
“I am very satisfied with what we have achieved in terms of development options because with the cost cap, if you take this direction and it doesn’t pay off, it’s negative,” explains Vasseur. “It’s not just that if it doesn’t pay off, it’s [only] a pity. You put your money, you bet on something.”
Vasseur says he is “more than ready” for Ferrari to continue leading in innovation and believes that the company’s changing culture gives its engineers the feeling of being supported rather than feeling forced to play it safe out of fear of consequences.
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“It was important for the people in the team to feel the company’s support when they were innovative,” says the Frenchman, adding: “I hope this is just the beginning of this process, and that we will be able to continue the same approach and the same momentum.
“We will have a convergence of the directions we take because one of the most popular aspects of Formula 1 is also copying others. But if we can stay one step ahead and lead the field on some topics and projects, I am more than ready.”
“Sure, it will get increasingly difficult, but it will be the same challenge for everyone,” says Vasseur.
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