For the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc will use the third engine of the 2021 season on his SF21 car. The Monegasque is forced to resort to a new power unit in Belgium because the unit damaged in contact caused by Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin AMR21 at the start of the Hungarian GP was not repairable.
The Monegasque driver will have a 065/6 power unit in the same configuration as that used to date, because the evolution engine Mattia Binotto talked about before the summer holidays will not be ready before the Turkish GP.
The Scuderia, in fact, should introduce a unit in Istanbul that will have some innovations in the field of solutions that had not been updated with the version approved at the beginning of the current championship. The technical regulations of F1 2021 state that this year, elements of a well-defined list that have not already been modified in the winter can be changed during the season.
Ferrari will benefit from a new oil and a different fuel which have been developed by Shell. Together with the small changes to the hybrid system, the SF21 should be able to count on just under a dozen more horses that will be useful in the final part of the championship to counter McLaren in the battle for third place in the Constructors’ World Championship (today the two teams are on par with 163 points).
The expectations for Spa, therefore, are not exciting, even if the weather forecast towards the rain could play in favor of the Red cars. According to rumors about the SF21, some minor changes to the diffuser may appear that have significantly improved the efficiency of the car.
On the Belgian track (which is the longest in the world with 7.004 meters) an unloaded aerodynamic structure pays as long as the car body is able to generate the downforce necessary to compensate for the lower incidence of the wings. The simulations did not give extraordinary results, but it is worth remembering that the same was said for Silverstone and then it was seen that Charles Leclerc thwarted Lewis Hamilton’s victory until the last two laps.
Much will depend on the SF21’s ability to activate the tires (Pirelli has approved the compounds C2, C3 and C4, ie the middle ones of its range) and on the efficiency of the hydraulically controlled rear suspension, a delight for the Maranello team. When the SF21 manages to get the tires working in the right window of operation, Ferrari seems capable of challenging the two top teams, otherwise it is wrapped up in the fight in the middle of the pack.
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