Ferrari has caused a stir on the opening morning of the final pre-season test in Bahrain on Wednesday after revealing an intriguing new wing behind its exhaust.

With the squad having focused its early running so far on the "spec-A" version of its SF-26 that it launched with, the Italian outfit has begun rolling out some tweaks that are likely to form part of its Australian Grand Prix package.

One of these that has grabbed attention is a new flick-up that sits right behind the exhaust.

It has the appearance of a mini but crude beam wing, which was a common feature of the previous generation of cars.

The small wing falls into an area of the rear tail where bodywork is in theory heavily restricted, but likely makes clever use of allowances in various regulations surrounding the rear wing pylons to ensure that it complies with the rules.

The new aerodynamic element is likely aimed at delivering two key benefits for car performance.

It could help make use of diverting exhaust gases to help with the way they interact with the rear wing air flow.

Furthermore, it could be acting as an extension of the diffuser airflow, aimed to help improve performance here and deliver greater downforce.

One of the key design considerations for this year was the banning of beam wings at the rear, which had become common with the previous generation of cars.