Marchionne: The biggest problem for Ferrari is its power unit
Sergio Marchionne, the brand new boss of Ferrari, believes that his F1 team must return to the top, and this involves improving the power unit, which is currently a hindrance in the hope of achieving good performances this season.
The new President of Ferrari, Sergio Marchionne, inaugurated following the departure of Luca di Montezemolo, believes that to overcome its current issues, the Scuderia must revise its power unit, which has been causing competitiveness problems since the start of the season.
With a complicated season so far, Marchionne has not hidden his desire to see the Prancing Horse brand return to the forefront in Formula 1, and as he stated during a press conference in Maranello, quoted by Autosport, the first point to review is the V6 Turbo block: “We know the problem. We have an issue with the power unit.”
I have confidence in Ferrari and its racing division, and in the fact that it will be able to rise again as it has in the past. The racing division continues to be an essential element of Ferrari. We will work to try to win because it’s part of the brand’s DNA. The most important thing is to reconnect with victory, it’s essential. The problem is to regain our credibility on the track for Ferrari. We must do it, and I have no doubt that we will be able to achieve it.
The outgoing President of Scuderia, Luca di Montezemolo, agreed with his successor, explaining that the Maranello team had underestimated the challenges related to the arrival of the new power unit this season in Formula 1: “This year, we are facing a very bad season, fundamentally because we underestimated the difficulties of the new power unit system, which is not a traditional engine. I think that’s the real problem. But all the prerequisites are there to soon return to victory. I hope this rule that does not allow you to intervene on the engine during the season will change.”
Kimi Räikkönen also believes that there are improvements to be made regarding the power unit, specifically the ERS – the cause of Fernando Alonso’s retirement at Monza. The Finn told *Autosport* that this system was a weakness for the F14 T and did not allow him to fully compete against his rivals on track: “I think in race conditions, it’s an area we need to study. But during the season, it’s not easy [because of the engine freeze]. I’m sure we can improve this winter. We’ve already made progress and I think if you look at some manufacturers [compared to us] over one lap it’s not so bad, but over a race distance, we seem to suffer at times.”
