Scuderia Ferrari are battling to get back to winning ways after a couple of seasons away from the top places of the grid. The Italian side was strong in the first half of the 2019 Formula 1 season, but it all went downhill from there due to a power unit-related technical directive which was issued by the FIA and directly affected the Maranello team’s engine.
The 2020 championship was then one to forget for Ferrari, who at times were not even able to score some points. A strong recovery followed last season, especially given the limited development possibilities, as Ferrari scored two pole positions, five podium finishes and came close to winning a race, which was rewarded with a third place in the Constructors’ Championship. Now their sights are set on fighting once again for race wins and maybe even the Formula 1 titles.
The Scuderia saw the new regulations for the 2022 championship as the ideal opportunity to get back on top, given the radical design changes which the new Formula 1 cars are based on. In addition, Ferrari and the other power unit manufacturers are hard at work creating their new specifications for 2022, that will be the last of this era as a freeze then comes into play, lasting until 2025 at which point the new generation of power units are set to be introduced for the next campaign.
In this regard, FIA accredited Formula 1 journalist and analyst Giuliano Duchessa confirmed that Ferrari is confident the new engine will deliver according to expectations: “The power is there. All the work of the last few weeks is done on Km in order to avoid degradation after 4/5 races. Only the rivals on track will say whether the package is highly competitive as they hope in Maranello after this long development process fo the F1-75” – he posted on Twitter.
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Ferrari, in truth, do not have an ideal record when it comes to rule changes in the modern era: we still remember the events which took place in 2009 when, after fighting for the Drivers’ title until the final round of the 2008 campaign, the reigning Constructors’ champions could only manage one race win during the entire championship. Ferrari also encountered a lot of difficulties in recognising the transformational effect of the V6 hybrid engines back in 2014 and they effectively took themselves out of World Championship contention in 2019 when the front wing tweaks created more problems than benefits.
For all the times Scuderia Ferrari did not manage to capitalise on new rules, however, the Italian side got it absolutely right in 2017 with what remains one of the most innovative and influential designs of the last decade – and it is perhaps here where the Maranello team can find inspiration for the 2022 Formula One season.
