Ferrari’s rotating rear wing has David Coulthard thinking of McLaren’s banned third pedal

Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard has compared Ferrari's impressive rear wing mechanism seen in this year's pre-season testing to McLaren's infamous third brake pedal.

The Scuderia arrived at the second Bahrain test accompanied by plenty of curiosity as the paddock turned its attention to its unusual hardware at the rear of the car tied to the new Straight Line Mode that has replaced DRS this season. Ferrari has tested a rear wing that rotates 180 degrees instead of hinging at the trailing edge similar to DRS - a design that has been complimented by many. 

Talking about the team on the Up to Speed podcast, Coulthard was excited to see such innovation in the championship as he reflected on the third pedal feature used by McLaren in 1997 and 1998.

"It reminds me of, through the history of time, the 15 years in Formula 1, when you come with an innovation that gives you a real advantage over the others, it feels good. It's like that little secret potion of power.

"And there was a time at McLaren where we had what was called the third brake. Now, of course, there's a brake in each corner, but we had the normal brake pedal, and then we had a third pedal which we could, with a little solenoid switch on the steering wheel, put it to brake the left rear or the right rear. So, it actually worked like a tank track. So, a tank turned by slowing down one side of the car."

It was Coulthard's driving style that prompted such a design by McLaren chief engineer at the time, Steve Nichols. The British driver preferred a setup with less oversteer, so being able to brake the inner wheels at corners allowed him to dial in more understeer, which would then be negated by the system when appropriate. 

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images

"So, we learned to sort of balance the car at high speed by throttling and braking together, but it would only brake the inside rear wheel. And it would then mean that you didn't have to have as much steering angle, which meant you didn't lose as much downforce, which meant you were quicker through the corner.”

This seemingly simple design by the Woking team was worth nearly half a second per lap before it was banned in the early part of the 1998 season. 

"We managed to run that for more than half a season before eventually a photographer, I remember, Darren Heath, managed to get a photograph inside the cockpit," Coulthard remembered. 

While Ferrari's rear wing may not make it to grands prix, we're waiting with bated breath to see if it does, and whether it succeeds in comparison to the other active systems being used by teams.