In these first five months there has been a lot of talk about the reliability problems of the Ferrari power unit, not a huge surprise given the rumors that the Italian engine was struggling with the mileage on the test benches during the winter. More unexpected, however, is the unreliability that came after the introduction of the updated specification of the internal combustion engine. The results in terms of reliability of unit number 1 had been comforting, so much so that the second unit, originally scheduled for the Spanish GP, had been brought forward to the previous appointment only due to a problem with the oil tank, found in the usual checks carried out after the trip to Melbourne.
Also in the Red Bull house they had reliability problems at the beginning of the 2022 Formula 1 season, which led to several retirements for Max Verstappen and Checo Perez, but with an important difference compared to the problems that occurred for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz: both RB18 cars did not lose engines, which instead happened to Ferrari and caused both drivers to take penalties in at least two of the last nine rounds.
The next round of the 2022 Formula 1 season, the Belgian GP, is an important venue in terms of new components, and most likely Ferrari will decide to make a new engine change for Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque made the most of what the regulation still allows in terms of changes in Montreal, mounting two power units in the same weekend but taking penalties only that weekend. Spa could become a weekend where we will see plenty of penalties for several drivers, also because the engineers have the new hybrid parts ready on the launch pad, which will be homologated on September 1st, and the cancelation of the Russian GP will force many teams to make fewer calculations for engine component changes. In Belgium, some teams may use the clever Ferrari interpretation of Canada.
The problems with the Ferrari engines have generated a greater use of the exhausts, also quoted in a maximum annual number which is equal to 8. Especially for Charles Leclerc, who arrived at Silverstone with no less than 5 exhausts used (also due to the double engine change) of the 8 available per season with 13 GPs still to be completed.
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Hence the choice of Ferrari to accumulate exhausts (perfectly usable) between Austria, France and Hungary in order to get to Spa with the possibility of a penalty, which would be free if the fifth power unit is mounted on number 16, as seems to be the plan at this moment, according to formu1a.uno. An intelligent choice, which has nothing to do with exhaust problems, so much so that Carlos Sainz has used only five parts so far, even one less than what Red Bull brought to the track. We can do a similar speech for the transmissions given that Ferrari has mounted the fourth in Hungary, and therefore the Monegasque driver will be able to take a ‘free’ penalty at Spa. In conclusion, the next GP for Charles Leclerc could be that of filling up in terms of exhausts and transmissions to avoid surprises, such as penalties on these two macro components at the weekend where no engine replacements are planned.
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