Ferrari plans a major engine update before the end of the season

After having had to significantly reduce the power of its engine following the secret agreement with the FIA last year, the Italian team was able to take advantage of the winter to develop its engine, which according to GPS data, was up to 65 horsepower behind Mercedes.

But despite the development done during the offseason, the horsepower engine is still not at the level of the leaders such as Honda and Mercedes, and would still have a deficit of around 25 horsepower, which did not prevent the Scuderia from achieving two pole positions and scoring twice as many points as last season, largely due to an excellent chassis, very effective in slow corners and winding sections.

The reason is that Ferrari was not able to fully introduce the 2021 specification of its power unit, so the SF21 are actually running with a slight evolution of last year’s V6. Thanks to the fact that the 2021 regulations allow the introduction of an engine upgrade during the season, the Scuderia will be able to install its true 2021 engine in its cars.

According to the 2021 regulations, one can have an entirely new power unit in 2021,” explains Mattia Binotto, which means that all engine components can be upgraded, namely the internal combustion engine, the turbocharger, the MGU-H, the batteries, the MGU-K, and the electronic control unit. However, we did not have time to finish developing the 2021 power unit. So currently, we still have 2020 parts, and we will bring an evolution of these. I think the new components will bring significant performance gains by the end of the season and allow us to gain experience for 2022.

Unfortunately for the tifosi, it is not planned for the evolution to be ready for the Italian Grand Prix in September, which suggests that the SF21 will struggle on the very fast circuits of Spa-Francorchamps and Monza.

Binotto therefore expects to see McLaren take third place alone in the constructors’ championship. « At the Belgian Grand Prix, the race will be difficult for us, because the seven tenths that we give away to the best are 60% due to the engine. On a circuit like Spa-Francorchamps, we therefore expect to find ourselves behind Mercedes and Honda because it is a circuit that favours the engine. So I think that the difference will be significant in a qualifying lap. »

Fortunately for fans of the Scuderia, the Italian team still has time to react for 2022, where engine development will be completely frozen until 2025.

The technical director of the Italian team also mentioned the considerable gains made in other areas.

« For example, pit stops. I consider a pit stop performed in under 3 seconds to be good. This may seem like a high number, but for strategy, it is better to be consistent rather than just fast. Because what can ruin a race is an issue in the pit stop, meaning that you make a stop of 4.5 seconds or even 5 or 6. »

« 84% of our pit stops this year lasted less than 3 seconds, compared to only 48% last year. The mechanics have therefore taken a big step forward. Last year we were only 8th in terms of pit stops, whereas today we are second, with only Red Bull being better than us in this area.

« So as a team and car we have made progress and the direction we are heading is encouraging. We still lag by over half a second behind the best but this performance deficit does not come from only one area but it is an overall situation, namely aerodynamics, the engine, all systems in general.

« I do not think that we are lagging behind in just one area, which is good because it would mean having to make up for considerable delay in that area, which can be relatively difficult. »

Ferrari’s Scuderia, revitalized by two consecutive podiums – at Silverstone (Leclerc leading the majority of the race) and in Budapest – after struggling with their tires at Le Castellet, is determined to fight until the end of the season with McLaren for 3rd place in the constructors’ championship and positions itself as an outsider for the 2022 season.