Scuderia Ferrari’s challenge for the Drivers and Constructors world championship Ferrari restarts from the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and does so in special circumstances. The Italian side hopes to be able to recover points against Red Bull from this first appointment after the summer break, but the team has been aware for a long time that their weekend will be conditioned by grid penalties.
The week of preparation for the race saw the Maranello team engaged not only in technical decisions on setup, but also in strategic decisions regarding engine rotations and the use of new power unit elements.
Spa-Francorchamps, an important test for the Ferrari power units
Ahead of the Belgian GP, Luigi Fraboni, responsible for the Power Unit and operation and electronics, previewed the Spa-Francorchamps race for Ferrari. Perhaps not a random choice given the characteristics of the track. “Together with Monza, SPA is the track where the engine power makes the greatest difference in terms of the lap time. It is also a very strict circuit for the reliability of the engines. Here the greatest mileage of the season is normally run; there are very long straights, so much so that they usually require specific approval in bench life tests”. It is no mystery that reliability is one of the weaknesses of the F1-75, in particular for its power units, as confirmed by Mattia Binotto himself, who however also pointed out that the team has identified the issue.
A definitive fix can only be made over time, with processes that are impossible to finish during the current season, but the Ferrari boss spoke of how Ferrari has understood the problem and can therefore “manage it, thus being able to approach the races with more tranquility and safety”. Possible solutions could arrive already this season as Mattia Binotto implied when, after France, he was asked if Carlos Sainz’s new Power Unit already had some corrections, replying: “Not on this power unit”.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection from Puma! Enter the online Puma Store and shop securely! And get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
In Ferrari they are busy counting the available engines and for this reason, as confirmed by Paolo D’Alessandro and Giuliano Duchessa, the engineers are considering taking a penalty with Charles Leclerc in Belgium, so as to increase the number of elements available for the Monegasque driver, but also – and above all – to equip it with the latest innovations that they worked on in Maranello until the last moment. We are obviously talking about the new hybrid that Ferrari had already decided to introduce “as late as possible” this season.
Leave a Reply