Racing Bulls’ front wing innovation in Bahrain tests: outwash tunnel revealed. During Bahrain testing, Racing Bulls introduced a front wing with a second element.

F1 | Racing Bulls create a tunnel outside the front wing endplate

During the Bahrain pre-season tests, the Faenza-based Racing Bulls team introduced a front wing featuring two interesting innovations: above the footplane, a second element nearly touches the curl, creating a tunnel that directs airflow toward the outside of the front wheel. Along the sides of the nose, the team attempts to reproduce the Y250 vortex effect, which had become famous a few years ago.

Racing Bulls concluded the final day of testing with Arvid Lindblad, the only rookie of the season. For the Anglo-Swedish driver, there could hardly have been a more challenging debut, given the introduction of new regulations for more agile F1 cars.

In the first two Bahrain sessions, the team did not reproduce the curiosity that had caught the paddock’s attention: two small flaps on the top of the nose. However, on the third day of testing, another interesting solution appeared, this time concerning the front wing.

The FIA regulations allow, outside the lateral endplate, the installation of the prominent footplane and a second profile that, according to the technical delegates, should sit at the top of the endplate.

Teams are exploring ways to increase the outwash effect—that is, pushing airflow around the front wheel—sometimes counter to the legislators’ expectations. On the VCARB03, the second flap has been deliberately lowered to almost touch the outer curl, which has been enlarged. This solution gives the impression that Faenza’s aerodynamicists are attempting to create a kind of tunnel.

Nothing is coincidental: just behind, before the exit edge, there is a small flow diverter that channels air outward, optimizing the outwash effect without increasing drag.

The front wing has also been revised in the central portion of the movable flaps. Last week, the two active aerodynamic elements had a continuous design, whereas in the latest version, each flap has a separate channel, seemingly designed to generate a vortex reminiscent of the Y250 concept that characterized F1 cars in the pre-ground-effect era.

These are two concepts that merit further development. It will be interesting to see whether they are confirmed in Australia for the season’s first race debut.

The technical ingenuity shown by Racing Bulls highlights how the mid-field battle in 2026 will be won or lost on these marginal aerodynamic gains. By finding ways to manipulate airflow against the FIA’s original “agile car” blueprints, the Faenza team is proving they are ready to fight for a place at the front of the pack.