The incident which took Charles Leclerc out of the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest ahead of the summer break certainly complicated Scuderia Ferrari’s plans, but it did not completely changed them. After the break, in Maranello they resumed working at full speed to produce the power unit number 4.
The information gathered confirms that the team headed by Mattia Binotto had already planned the introduction of an extra power unit, aware of having to plan a penalty for both drivers on the grid, possibly not at the same time. It is not yet clear when the choice will be made, the main problem at the moment is to have more certainty on the calendar for the second part of the season.
Qatar is in pole to replace the Australian GP (21 November) while a second event in Bahrain could be the solution for the date of the canceled Japanese GP. Everything is in the making, such as the possibility to change the dates between Russia and Turkey in order to cancel the mandatory quarantine that “English” personnel should go through after the weekend in Istanbul.
Returning to Ferrari, the news gathered from Maranello confirms the possibility of pushing Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz’s Power Unit n.3 further to the limit, with the latter having again the second unit available and, at present, more useful km available for rotations. Something not to be underestimated.
It is quite clear that the engine update defined as “significant” was not approved by virtue of any incidents or breakdowns.
Last winter in Maranello they made an interesting decision: they kept in their pocket the possibility to update the specification of the power unit.
The move gave the Italian team not only some important months of development but also the possibility (not the certainty given that the decision was taken during the current season following the steps forward at the benches) to test them on the track and verify the improvements on the end of the season, which has been a mirage in F1 for years. This meant, however, taking the decision to introduce a fourth power unit and therefore to take some penalties.
This will provide further information that should not be underestimated, for the benefit of the work of the engineers in the coming months who will have the opportunity to further update all six macro-components of the power unit (endothermic, turbocharger, MGU-H, MGU-K, battery and control unit).
According to what has been learned, a completely new evolution of the hybrid ahead of a key 2022 Formula 1 season is confirmed and that according to bench estimates will allow a gradual increase of 10-15 HP by the end of the year.
It would be a really important step because it would bring the Italian side not only very close to McLaren in terms of power, but would allow for an even more effective aerodynamic compromise for fast corners, the weak point of the SF21.
It should be remembered that from 1 March 2022 some components of the Power Unit will freeze, such as the endothermic, the turbocharger, the MGU-H motor generator and the exhausts, as well as gasoline and oil (the other macro components will be frozen on 1 September 2022 ), which must then be used without further development for three seasons. Except for novelty for ‘reliability reasons’.
As for the Spa-Francorchamps weekend, the SF21 showed up for the checks – as did Red Bull – with the lighter wing already used in Baku and, given the low temperatures, the most efficient engine hood supplied.
However, everything will depend on the weather, because it is clear that centering the configuration before the parc fermé will be one of the keys to doing well on Sunday in the main event of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.
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