What Ferrari to expect in Budapest?
Frederic Vasseur and Charles Leclerc are trying to temper the enthusiasm of Scuderia Ferrari fans, while the anticipation for the Hungarian GP in Budapest further ignites the scorching atmosphere of this fiery July. Both the Monegasque driver and the French team principal have indeed lowered expectations for the upcoming race at the Hungaroring circuit, reminding on one hand that being favorites on paper is not enough to win races, and on the other, that only a few weeks have passed since a Monaco GP where the SF-26 seemed poised to sweep the competition before observing (not even too closely) the rear of Andrea Kimi Antonelli‘s dominant Mercedes throughout the weekend.
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Somewhat out of sync, however, is Lewis Hamilton, who in post-race interviews at Spa instead boosted the Prancing Horse’s chances, openly speaking of new technical updates on the way. Could it be the evolved version of the much-discussed inverted mobile rear wing, which Vasseur has now unanimously cleared with the name “Macarena” wing? It is undoubtedly, along with the FTM fin positioned on the exhaust, one of the greatest innovations brought to the track this year by Ferrari, and the name is nothing more than a reference to the famous 90s Latin American dance, given the way the mobile flap rotates approximately 270 degrees to ensure more “light” between the wing profiles and thus allow more air to pass through, reducing drag.
Macarena 2.0 is coming
It has indeed been known for weeks that Maranello engineers have been working for some time on a 2.0 version of the most discussed rear wing in the GP paddock, but the component remains delicate, also considering, for example, the malfunctions that triggered two incidents in a few days on Max Verstappen‘s Red Bull, so much so that the Milton Keynes team decided to forgo the innovative wing on the fast Spa track. Returning to Ferrari, the seemingly more cumbersome system studied in Maranello has never had problems and has proven to be very solid, but it is also clear that the Red team’s designers have not been in any particular hurry to debut the new updated version.
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According to Autoracer.it, the Hungarian GP could be the right time to finally see the new Macarena on Lewis Hamilton’s and Charles Leclerc’s SF-26s. An extra weapon, even on a slow and winding track not coincidentally called “Monte Carlo without walls,” which could help to further reduce the gap between Ferrari and Mercedes. Indeed, the evolution of the mobile rear wing would be designed specifically for high-downforce tracks, as – according to rumors reported by Rosario Giuliana – additional profiles called “hanger flaps” would also be present to increase rear downforce: these are small aerodynamic appendages already seen on the Mercedes, but which will be banned in 2027 and which, therefore, will only be useful to Ferrari for this season’s chase.
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