Ferrari used conservative power unit mode in Bahrain amid reliability tweaks. Ferrari used conservative power unit mode in Bahrain .

Formula 1 feels in a better place when Scuderia Ferrari are in the fight for the race wins, unlike the previous two Formula 1 seasons, during which the Maranello team had to settle for a few podiums and a lot of disappointing moments. However, given that Ferrari didn’t have to fight for the 2021 Formula 1 championship, they could thereby free up plenty of resource and focus for the 2022 Formula 1 project and the latest regulations designed to keep the tallest and best performing ‘sunflowers’ in the shade for a while mean that the Italian side has 10 per cent more aerodynamic development time than Mercedes. And they’ve used it very well.

But alongside the obvious aerodynamic improvements, one other key component which has made a significant step forward is the power unit area.

Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto did not hide the fact that his team had done a great job during the winter, confirming ahead of the 2022 Formula 1 season that they had recovered 25 horsepower or perhaps even more on the competition, an undoubtedly positive aspect especially if we take into consideration the fact that these power units will be frozen until 2026 in terms of developments, except for work that can be carried out for reliability purposes.

Today’s edition of the Italian daily newspaper Corriere dello Sport highlighted that the Ferrari power unit has not yet shown its entire potential at the Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend: “In the first Grand Prix of the new season, the technicians from Maranello used the engine below its potential, so as not to approach in any way the limits of reliability before having well identified them. The power will be increased gradually in the following races, but not yet in the next weekend in Saudi Arabia – and it is likely that the second power unit of the year will be able to debut in four or five races, once reliability has been secured with a specific evolution of the engine” – Corriere dello Sport informs.