In preparation for the Canadian Grand Prix, one of the most demanding races on the calendar for Power Units, a new internal combustion engine has been installed on both Ferrari SF-23 cars. This marks the team’s third engine out of the four allowed for the entire season. In addition to the engine, the turbo, MGU-H, and MGU-K have also been replaced on the cars of Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon.
Following the issues that arose in Bahrain during the season opener, Ferrari had decided to replace the engine on both their cars in the following weekend, the one in Saudi Arabia, while the customer teams switched to their second engine in Australia, the third race of the championship. The Ferrari team had explained this replacement as a precautionary measure based on the data gathered in Sakhir.
Now at the eighth round of the championship in Canada, the engineers have decided to install the third engine available for this season on both SF-23 cars. This decision comes on a circuit known for its demanding nature in terms of the power unit, making it one of the most challenging tracks on the entire calendar. The two engines were installed on their respective cars before the start of FP1, which was interrupted almost immediately due to a failure on Pierre Gasly’s Alpine and a closed-circuit camera service issue on the track. To make up for the lost time, the second practice session will be extended by thirty minutes.
Similarly, on the cars of Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon, who last replaced their engine at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the third internal combustion engine has been installed.
It’s important to note that following the latest World Council meeting held on April 25th, the F1 Commission and the International Federation decided to increase the number of available units for each driver this season from three to four.
On Tsunoda and Albon’s cars, the replacement went beyond just the internal combustion engine, as a new turbo, MGU-H, and MGU-K were also installed. This marks the third unit for all these components out of the four allowed. However, only the exhaust system was replaced on Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez’s Red Bull cars, without touching the other components.
