Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz will most likely use a fourth power unit this season in the next round of the 2022 Formula 1 championship, the French Grand Prix, given the fact that the Maranello team will not be able to completely fix the reliability issues, which means that new components will at least guarantee no other failures in the next two races until the summer break, as reported by Spanish newspaper Marca after the Austrian Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz’s third engine unfortunately went out with a bang in the final stages of the Austrian Grand Prix last weekend, as his F1-75 car caught fire. The Spanish driver was heading to a second place finish behind his Maranello teammate in Austria, until he was forced to stop on the side while he was chasing down Max Verstappen. It was Carlos Sainz’s fourth DNF of the current Formula 1 campaign, the third caused by power unit issues.
Scuderia Ferrari has the option of using one of the older hybrid parts in France and therefore avoid a grid penalty at the Paul Ricard circuit, Spanish newspaper Marca informs that with ‘mileage already at the limit’ that would not be an idea solution for a power-demanding track like Paul Ricard. ‘A fresh one is needed’.
While his Maranello team-mate Charles Leclerc was forced to start from the back of the grid a few weeks ago in Canada, after changing two power units in order to be able to have fresh parts, the Italian side had hoped that Carlos Sainz would be able to complete the following two races until the summer break without a new engine, an option that now seems highly unlikely:
‘He will change engines and start from the back in France,’ Marca informs – “It will be the fourth and carries a sanction, without being in addition to the improved specification, which will arrive for Spa or Monza. In addition Ferrari do not have the new improved specification ready in Maranello either, which is expected to be between Spa and Monza in September, the usual extreme speed races. So Carlos will have a new engine, but with the current specification, which has constant reliability problems’ – the Spanish newspaper added.
Carlos Sainz will therefore most likely use a new ‘internal combustion engine, which is expected to be accompanied by a turbo, battery and the MGU-K and H’. If this happens, the Spanish driver will have to start the French Grand Prix from the very back of the grid.
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Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto admitted he is concerned about the recent reliability problems encountered by the Maranello team and also its customer teams:
“It’s certainly a concern, but the people working back at Maranello are working very hard trying to fix them, which is not solved yet. And if you look at what happened to Carlos, it has not been solved yet. But we will have new elements and I know how hard they are working, how good they are and I can count on them that it will be addressed as soon as possible.” – he explained.
Carlos Sainz’s DNF at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg was also a blow to his chances of challenging for the 2022 F1 world title, as he is now 75 points behind Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ standings ahead of the French Grand Prix.
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