Ferrari forced to change car following FIA talks over 'illegal' concerns
Ferrari had talks with the FIA over the decision.
Ferrari have been forced to remove a key upgrade after talks with the FIA at the Chinese Grand Prix due to issues with 'legality'.
To nobody's surprise Mercedes dominated in China, securing back-to-back one-two finishes in 2026, as Kimi Antonelli led George Russell to secure his first ever F1 victory.
The podium was once again completed by a Ferrari, and after 26 races of waiting, Lewis Hamilton finally got one over on Charles Leclerc who had scored all eight of the team's podiums since 2025.
Hamilton had to fight his way by Leclerc, with the duo putting on a show for the fans as they fought tooth and nail for the final spot on the podium.
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Ahead of the second race of the season, there was significant excitement surrounding the Scuderia, with the team bringing two performance upgrades to Shanghai including the 'macarena wing'.
Ferrari remove upgrade over FIA concerns
Ferrari confirmed they wouldn't run the advanced rear wing due to reliability issues, however, according to a report from The Race the second upgrade was removed after talks with the FIA over concerns it was illegal.
The upgrade was quickly spotted during the first practice session, as two small winglets were visible on either side of the central halo mount.
Both Leclerc and Hamilton used the winglets during Saturday's sprint race where they finished second and third, but they were removed ahead of qualifying for the grand prix.
The report claims a senior source at Ferrari confirmed there were concerns the winglets were "borderline" in the regulations, with the team opting against risking action from the FIA or a rival team protesting.
The performance gain from the upgrades is also only understood to be a couple of hundredths of a second, meaning the risk versus reward wasn't worth a potential disqualification.
F1 teams are restricted in where they can add bodywork, with all components required to sit within strict legality boxes.
The regulations do permit extra additions to the halo, but teams have typically only placed them along the top edge.
Article C13.3 of F1's rulebook states "a fairing may be attached to the Secondary Roll Structure" and that it must lie in the RV-Halo box, have a convex radius less than 2mm, and be joined to the front bodywork with a fillet radius no greater than 10mm.
It is unknown what led to the U-turn from the FIA, with Ferrari having the upgrades approved ahead of the Chinese grand prix, however, The Race speculated it could be down to rival team questioning the upgrade.
Topics: Formula 1, Ferrari, FIA, Motorsport
Tom Jenkins