Ahead of the 2022 Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, Scuderia Ferrari and its customer teams – Alfa Romeo and Haas – have all introduced the second power unit, which means that the first engine has been changed after only five rounds of the current campaign from the total of 23 events scheduled. The power units ‘1’ will be used in free practice on Friday so as not to burden too much mileage on the power units ‘2’, which does not include the planned hybrid update, a step forward that has been postponed for the introduction of the third power unit allowed by the regulations.
The fact that Ferrari and the customer teams are already using the second engine so relatively early in the 2022 Formula One season, however, according to some Mercedes engineers which were interviewed by the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, will make it virtually impossible for Ferrari, Haas and Alfa Romeo to avoid introducing extra engines beyond the three allowed by the rules. For Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Vallteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen, therefore, penalties are expected to be served on the starting grid later in the season, an eventuality not so problematic situation given that Mercedes in the final parte of the 2021 season introduced new engines in a systematic manner and were one lap away from winning the Drivers ‘title, while winning the Constructors’ title.
According to what was reported by the authoritative journalist Michael Schmidt who has talked with Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto, the potential of the ‘Superfast’ power unit built in Maranello is higher than that currently used and will be released as soon as there is certainty that the units will not risk breaking within 4000-5000 kilometers. Ferrari started the season aware that it could face reliability problems and what emerged about the engine of Carlos Sainz already replaced at Imola led to an acceleration of the introduction of power unit 2 on the entire Ferrari powered cars.
If the Ferrari-powered cars will have to face penalties due to the introduction of extra components for the power units in the second part of the campaign, Red Bull should also be worried given the fact that Max Verstappen is already using the third gearbox of the four granted this season. So let’s get ready for shuffled and unconventional starting grids sooner than we could expect, even if with the freezing of the power units it was more than legitimate to expect risks from the manufacturers in order for them not to regret having left unexpressed potential for the next four years.
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