Scuderia Ferrari lost an almost certain one-two finish in the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, as Carlos Sainz was forced to retire just as he was getting ready to overtake the Red Bull of Max Verstappen for second place in Spielberg. Scuderia Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto confirmed that the power unit issue suffered by Carlos Sainz in Austria is most likely “very similar” to the problem experienced by his Maranello teammate at the Baku City Circuit a few weeks ago.
The Italian side can rely, at least based on the statements made by their opponents, on the most powerful engine on the 2022 Formula 1 grid but at the same time it has also proved to be the most unreliable, causing problems also for customer teams Alfa Romeo and Haas. Things were even worse for Charles Leclerc, who had to start from the back of the grid at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Canada due to power unit, as the Monegasque driver used two new engines as a result of the Baku issues, in order to have more spare parts for the second half of the championship.
In Azerbaijan, Carlos Sainz also had to retire from the race, due to a hydraulics issue, as the Spanish driver now has three DNFs caused by power unit problems, in Spain, Baku and Austria.
“It seems something very similar to what happened in Azerbaijan, in Maranello we are working hard to find a fix,” Mattia Binotto said in a recent interview for Corriere dello Sport – “We have a powerful engine and this gives me hope for the future. We are working hard to solve the problems.” – he added
The events in the Austrian Grand Prix will most likely force Carlos Sainz to take a grid penalty in the next round of the 2022 Formula 1 season, the French Grand Prix, as he will have to use the fourth power unit. While Mattia Binotto confirmed that his team is working on identifying and fixing the issue in the “medium-term”, the Ferrari boss is aware they also have to manage the situation for the next few races:
“These are problems that are worrying for the next races, not in the medium-term because I am convinced that as a team we will be able to solve them. We have a very performing engine and this gives me hope for the future when we have found a way to make it solid as well. Resolutions of this type need time, it is necessary to design new components, produce them, homologate them for reliability. A few weeks are not enough. In the short-term we will try to manage it in terms of mileage.” – he explained.
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Due to the many reliability problems in the first part of the season, especially caused by engine failures, Ferrari are trailing Red Bull in both championships midway through the campaign. While Charles Leclerc, who took his third victory of the season at the Red Bull Ring, is 38 points behind Max Verstappen, Ferrari with 303 points trail Red Bull by 56.
However, Mattia Binotto is confident Ferrari can turn things around:
“It is obvious that we still believe in both World Championships, drivers and manufacturers. This car has shown in all the races that it is competitive and looking at all the stages that remain to be raced, we have to believe it. We are a fierce team from every point of view: technician, drivers, men at pit stops.” – the Ferrari Team Principal concluded at the end of the Austrian Grand Prix.
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