Ferrari’s Double Rear F1 Wings: The Loophole

The year of 1982 and the Ferrari’s double rear F1 wings.

We saw many changes in F1 during the 70s and 80s, some of these ideas worked and became part of the sport, some of them were banned, and one of the most controversial examples was Ferrari’s double rear F1 wings.

But even in a sport known for radical ideas, what Ferrari rolled onto the grid that weekend at the United States in 1982, made people stop and stare!

Instead of one rear wing, there were two!

Not stacked vertically, visually you can see them, two full size wings, and mounted side-by-side.

Anecdote and F1 Technical Loopholes: It wasn’t just Ferrari pushing the limits. We’ve shared many tech stories from F1’s past on our website, from the Lotus ground-effect cars to the groundbreaking Williams designs that shocked the paddock. You can find plenty of other fascinating stories from racing history there.

Double Rear F1 Wings of Ferrari car

The early 80s were pure chaos in F1, a constant battle of loopholes. In 1982, some teams began exploiting gaps in the rules, most notably through clever water system tricks that allowed their cars to run lighter than intended, by releasing the water after the race had already started.

The reason behind it was simple, some teams could not match the power of the turbo cars in 1982, so this trick allowed them to stay competitive, at least until others discovered and challenged the loophole.

However, the Italian team decided to respond in the most visible way possible. If loopholes were allowed, Ferrari would exploit one so dramatically that nobody could ignore it.

The regulations clearly stated a rear wing could be no wider than 110 centimeters, but they never said there could only one rear wing, so Ferrari built two, each by 110 cm – (220cm both)

The Wing That Covered Everything

Wings were mounted side-by-side and slightly staggered, each wing measured exactly the maximum allowed width.

Together, they stretched across nearly the entire rear track of the car, so visually, it looked like a single massive aerodynamic surface split into two halves.

The purpose was simple, more wing surface meant more downforce, that pushed the car into the road, allowing it to go faster on corners without sliding.

On a fast circuit like Monza, this comes with a heavy price, because extra wing slows the car on straight, but Long Beach circuit of United States was not Monza.

Long Beach was tight, its corners came one after another, separated by short bursts of acceleration, mechanical grip and aerodynamic mattered more, Ferrari knew what they were doing, perfectly.

By doubling the wing area, they gave the car extraordinary grip, so the car could stick to the asphalt in ways rivals struggled to match.

A Perfect Weapon

The double rear wing transformed Ferrari, through Long Beach’s slow corners, the car became incredibly stable.

So the drivers could attack with confidence, where other teams hesitated.

But physics always demands a trade-off, on the straights, the extra wing produced enormous drag, air resistance increased dramatically, it was not fast enough on straight, that was the only weakness.

But Ferrari had something its rivals feared, its turbocharged engine, at a time when most teams still relied on naturally aspirated Ford-Cosworth engines, Ferrari’s engine had superior power.

The engine masked much of the drag penalty, so that allowed Ferrari remain competitive even with its oversized aerodynamic experiment, it was not faster everywhere, but in corners, it was undeniably stronger!

ANECDOTE: We remember the 1982 season as one of the most chaotic in F1 history. Turbo engines were dominating, and teams without them, like Ford-powered outfits, were constantly searching for ways to keep up. McLaren, for example, didn’t have a turbo engine either, but John Barnard’s innovative carbon-fiber monocoque chassis gave them a lighter, stiffer car that could compete. Chaos came from everywhere: engines were powerful but often unreliable. BMW’s M12/13 could reach nearly 1400 horsepower in qualifying, but it wasn’t dependable enough to fight for wins consistently.

Gilles Villeneuve and the Fight

Gilles Villeneuve, who was one of the best drivers on corner exits, he did not drive cautiously, he attacked every corner like it was his last chance.

He started the race seventh, he pushed his Ferrari for the whole race, fighting his way through the field.

At one point, he was fighting with Keke Rosberg, trading positions, and Ferrari looked planted and confident through the slow sections, its double wing doing exactly what it had been designed to do.

Villeneuve finished 3rd, on podium, it was remarkable result, it showed that the experiment worked perfectly, at least, on this track.

The Protest

Soon after the race ended, a protest was filed, but Ferrari had not broken the written rules, according to other teams, they had violated the spirit of the regulations.

And the stewards agreed, the reason was simple, while each wing individually complied with the maximum width, together they formed a combined aerodynamic structure that exceeded what the rule intended to allow.

Villeneuve was disqualified after the race (Illegal Rear Wing), and the result was erased.

Why Ferrari Did It Anyway

The Italian knew and they never expected the design to last forever, Ferrari wanted to demonstrate that if rules were interpreted too literally, the sport could quickly become absurd.

And in a way, they succeeded, the double rear wing forced F1 to rethink how regulations were written, future rules became clearer, Ferrari had pushed the system until it pushed back.

Today, the Ferrari 126C2 is remembered for many reasons, it was fast, powerful, a true product of F1’s turbo era. The team won the constructors championship that year.

However, the Long Beach double rear wing remains one of its most unforgettable moments.

For one weekend in 1982, Ferrari made something to show everyone that F1 has never just been about speed.

Featured Image Credits:
Photo by twm1340, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 – Via FLICKR