Ferrari's latest upgrade to its engine package seems to be working well and that's fuelled confidence in the Maranello-based team that it can overtake McLaren to take P3 in the F1 constructor's championship. Its team principal Mattia Binotto who formerly was also the head of its power unit division has revealed that the gap to the Mercedes engine is now negligible. Binotto reveals a big step has been made towards the hybrid unit which reportedly adds up to 15 bhp of horsepower but also makes power available for a long period across straights.
"The [additional] power is always available through the straight line, so you get the benefit from it at the start of the straight line and as well at the end," he explained.
"The way we can quantify that; if I look at this weekend, we're running maximum downforce, but we're somehow almost matching the speed of the others. Considering last year, how the situation was, it is certainly a big step forward. We still know that there is a gap to the best engine today, but we believe that gap is not so dramatic," he added.
Mattia Binotto used be Ferrari's engine boss before he became technical director and team principal
Photo Credit: AFP
Ferrari's power unit in 2020 was throttled because of technical regulations at the end of the 2019 season. Its car was also locked in for a more powerful engine and the added impact of COVID which ravaged Italy in the first half of the year quite severely made sure that Ferrari couldn't make amends.
Across the 2021 season, the team has shown massive improvement and recovered from its lowly P6 which was its worst performance in 40 years in the sport.
Ferrari has now started to do well on tracks that don't even traditionally suit its car aerodynamically.
"Generally speaking, in the overall balance of the lap, I think we have been clearly faster this weekend. I think on the paper it was not a circuit which was suiting obviously our car. That's why I'm pleased with the progress I've seen in the last races, certainly the help of the power unit both for qualifying and the race, and that gives me some confidence for the next races," Binotto added.
Ferrari is also working on an all-new engine and is pretty confident that its the engine at a minimum will achieve parity with the Mercedes and Honda power units, though its ultimate goal is to have the best engine in F1 for the next couple of years as there is an engine freeze at the end of the 2021 season.
