Powerful, but not reliable. If someone asked you to summarize in a few words the performance of the Ferrari power unit, those simple words would be the ones indicated, and that is because the Superfast , as it is called within the Gestione Sportiva de Maranello, has proven to be a much better level engine. than its predecessor of the last two years. However, its fragility has led the Prancing Horse pilots to penalize before reaching the middle of the course, forcing the introduction of new components in the rotation of parts, such as the ICE.
Just two weeks ago it was Charles Leclerc who had to deal with a penalty for fitting a fresh power unit, and it sent him to the back of the grid at the Belgian Grand Prix. Although those in red fell behind Red Bull, they managed to come back, limiting damage compared to Mercedes, who are catching them in the classification.
After a fortnight, it could be Carlos Sainz’s turn, as the Madrid native is also in a situation similar to that experienced by his teammate at Spa-Francorchamps. The difference is that the Spaniard could introduce the new power unit in one of the most important events of the year for the team, in Monza.
At Ferrari, in fact, they intended to comply with Sainz’s penalty in Italy, a track conducive to comebacks, where it is possible to overtake without losing much time. At the end of the last race in Zandvoort, the team’s boss, Mattia Binotto , admitted that the Madrid native will be forced to introduce the new engine before the end of the season.
“Today we had reliability problems in many cars, not just the Ferrari-powered ones,” said the Swiss after the Dutch Grand Prix. “We have seen it in the past, and in Red Bull they suffered it in the gearbox on Friday, while Pérez changed the engine. From now, and until the end, we will have to replace the power unit and comply with penalties. , the moment to do it is yet to be decided, so we will analyze everything and try to make the best choice”.
Sainz himself confirmed Ferrari’s intention, and believes that the introduction of the new engine could be done soon, so Monza is a serious candidate for the change to become a reality. It is interesting, since if that power unit is mounted, a saving of close to two kilos in weight would be achieved, as the pilot acknowledged.
“I know we have the plan to fit a new engine soon, that will also save us a couple of kilos, because we are still overweight. Hopefully it will give us more pace in qualifying and in the race than Max [Verstappen] and Charles [Leclerc] “, concluded the Spaniard of the Prancing Horse.
