In Formula 1, reliability and performance are two complementary factors, the balance of which is often the key to success, especially since the introduction of technical regulations that limit the number of power units that can be used during a season without taking penalties.
Taking into consideration the fact that three internal combustion engines are allowed per season, despite the ever-increasing calendars, the power unit manufacturers had to face a truly titanic challenge.
The world championship that has just ended has once again highlighted the topic of reliability in an overbearing way, due to the numerous technical problems that occurred with the Ferrari and Alpine motorized single-seaters. In the end, it is clear that the Maranello engineers and their French colleagues have opted for a clearly aggressive design strategy, aimed at bridging the gap to Mercedes and Red Bull.
Reliability was probably knowingly sacrificed, as both teams were aware of having to recover performance before the introduction of the power unit development freeze for a period three years. For Ferrari, at an engine level, 2022 was a year of transition, as evidenced by the total number of kilometers and laps covered, regardless of a few driving errors made by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
The Maranello team, realizing that it could not intervene decisively on the power unit in the short term, had to postpone the more invasive updates on its power unit until 2023. Interventions that will be on a structural level, contrary to what Ferrari itself excluded in the press release after the Spanish Grand Prix, according to the information provided by funoanalisitecnica.com.
The short-term solution was only to use a greater number of engines and to also use less extreme hybrid mappings. For this reason, even after the summer break, the F1-75 cars were very competitive in qualifying, taking pole position for the Italian, Singapore and Austin Grands Prix.
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Unfortunately that performance could not be replicated in the race due to the “necessary” performance reduction of the power unit, alongside the issues related to “tyre management” which in fact further reduced the pace of the two F1-75 car.
On average, the Ferrari 066/7 engines have revealed an average life of 1200 km, where performance has never been pushed to the maximum. According to the information collected by Formula One Technical Analysis, the modifications made to the Maranello power unit will allow the recovery of usable horsepower and consequent increase in power that will exceed 10 HP.
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Thanks to the exemption granted by the FIA, the division headed by Enrico Gualtieri has long since begun to review the 066/7 project in order to reach the necessary reliability. The triggering cause of the engine troubles is believed to be in the pre-combustion chamber, in which the heat emission peak in the initial phase produced strong thermal and mechanical stresses.
The improvement of about 30 horsepower, which is the sum of the new gains and the total resolution of the horses “kept at bay” for reliability, will give a strong boost to the 667 project. The objective of the Maranello engineers is therefore very clear: show up at the starting grid of the 2023 world championship with a very reliable engine which, in all likelihood, should be slightly more powerful than Mercedes and Honda.
The excellent results on the test bench, revealed in unsuspecting times by Mattia Binotto to the Haas team principal, which became public information on the occasion of the Bandini trophy which was received by Kevin Magnussen, represent excellent news for the Maranello team and also for its customer teams
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The engine that will power the next Prancing Horse car will therefore be able to count on the know-how acquired during the 2022 season, thus reaching the physiological maturity necessary to express itself at its best.
The evolutionary step made in this championship has shown flashes of superiority that the men in red intend to replicate. This not only during the next world championship, but over the next three years in which the development freeze will apply on all the components of the turbo hybrid power units.
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