Ferrari make drastic change to Lewis Hamilton's car as second 'loophole' discovered

Ferrari have stunned the entire Formula 1 paddock as they appeared to have discovered yet another loophole in the 2026 regulations by making a drastic change to Lewis Hamilton's car.

On Thursday, F1 teams are back on track at the Bahrain International Circuit as testing ahead of the 2026 season continues.

On Wednesday, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc impressed, having led the time sheet for the majority of the day.

The Monegasque was eventually beaten by McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Mercedes star George Russell.

Russell ended the day as the fastest driver, setting a quickest lap of 1:33.459.

Meanwhile, Leclerc's teammate, Hamilton, endured a tough session as his stint was limited due to a technical issue on the SF-26.

It was spotted that Ferrari ran an impressive upgrade to their exhaust wing.

On Thursday, it was noted that Ferrari have found another potential loophole as Hamilton took to the track.

It has been spotted that Ferrari have flipped the rear wing of the SF-26, in a bid to reduce drag.

F1's Technical Analyst Sam Collins said: "The upper element of the rear wing, you can see it clearly when it goes back to corner mode, the wing has fully rotated around.

"Ferrari have discovered something quite clever in the regulations, it doesn't specify the wing has to mounted the right way up when the active aero is deployed."

He added: "That means that they can run the wing upside down when they go onto the straights. An upside down wing should reduce aerodynamic drag. That is something nobody else has tried yet and I think Ferrari just tried it very briefly at the start of the day and hope noboy else noticed."

Speaking on Sky Sports, commentator David Croft praised Ferrari's new wing.

He said: "I love the Ferrari rear wing! They have taken the upper plane and it's flipping 180 degrees.

"It's very exciting and another great little development in a season that will be full of great little developments."

Meanwhile, Sky Sports F1 analyst Anthony Davidson said: "Ferrari might be doing that with the rear wing as a solution to the diffuser they have been running in this test which appears to be giving them a lot of slow speed downforce. The car is generating some downforce at slow speed but, as efficient as a diffuser is, it doesn't come for free because drag is created.

"Maybe this rear wing mitigates the losses of the extra drag from the brilliant diffuser on the Ferrari. Maybe that's the reason they are hunting for this extra decrease in drag."

What has Lewis Hamilton said about Ferrari's 2026 car?

Speaking this week, the seven-time world champion claimed that he feels more connected with the SF-26.

He said: "With the car, I think we've started off quite well so far. It's an exciting time with the new generation of cars, because it's all brand new, we're all trying to figure it out on the go.

"Last year we were locked into a car that ultimately, I inherited. This is a car that I've been able to be a part of developing on the simulator, and so a bit of my DNA is within. I'm more connected to this one, for sure."