The Ferrari Power Unit number 1 certainly fared better than expected in the first races of the 2022 Formula 1 season despite concerns about usage beyond 3000 km. The second power unit certainly gave more power but it was a disaster in terms of reliability, breaking down after not even two races.
It is not yet clear from the investigations whether a manufacturing, material or quality control issue affected the reliability of the second Power Uni, which had also undergone interventions with the goal of solving some reliability concerns. In recent days, very thorough investigations have been made at the Maranello factory but, given the tight deadlines, it was decided as a precaution to install a new power unit in Canada – without penalty – also on the F1-75 car of Carlos Sainz, giving it greater solidity and limiting, as much as possible, the fears related to possible failures.
The reliability issue is much more complicated than it may seem externally and also concerns the checks that various teams carry out after problems encountered or accidents. As evidence of this, the problem Sergio Perez suffered in Canada was caused by a “gearbox at the end of its life limit” but which had shown no signs of problems, as it emerged. This is why the Anglo-Austrian team is also considering “consequential damage from the accident” in Saturday’s qualifying as a possibility. Which is also what Ferrari said about the failure of the thermal component in Baku on Charles Leclerc’s 16, as a result of what happened in Spain.
Can Ferrari and Charles Leclerc turn things around in the battle with Red Bull and Max Verstappen?
The pure performances from Barcelona say yes. The developments are working and are helping the car to have more performance in race pace and the extra efficiency that it certainly lacked. The F1-75 cars raced in normal but not extreme mode, yet in Montreal Ferrari showed what was already seen in Melbourne, that is a fast car in terms of race pace, slightly faster than the Red Bull, who on the other hand was better at managing the race weekend, especially by taking advantage of the wet qualifying session. Ferrari’s strong pace at the Circuit de Catalunya and at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is an important sign for the next four crucial GPs, as explained by Giuliano Duchessa for formu1a.uno. Three months after the Australian Grand Prix, the F1-75 does not seem to be losing performance as might have been feared in comparison to the developments brought by Milton Keynes.
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According to Ferrari’s post-race simulations, in a normal race with afety Car, Carlos Sainz would have won the race with a gap of 18 seconds had he started from pole position and defended P1 at the start. This is to understand the still important performance which the F1-75 cars are capable of, a Ferrari car that has rarely disappointed in terms of performance during this first third of the world championship, in practically all types of tracks and conditions.
However, since you cannot draw in Formula 1 races – either you take points from your opponent or you lose them – Charles within three races, that is halfway through the season, must start gaining points against Max Verstappen. Otherwise it is quite clear that the Red Bull driver will find himself in an extremely comfortable situation to manage the second half of the 2022 Formula 1 world championship.
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