The Maranello team bounced back from a dismal 2020 season by claiming third place in the constructors’ championship, beating McLaren at the final round of the year in Abu Dhabi. With the new regulations for 2022, the Italian team hopes to have the opportunity to start from scratch and return to winning ways, as in times past.
Since Ferrari are optimistic for the upcoming campaign, even their boss Mattia Binotto said the new plan, which included a different approach, has led the team to go all out and be a contender.
“If I look at the car and the power unit of 2022, believe me, there is a lot of innovation in it,” said the manager. “I think that the way the engineering team has approached the new design and the project, with the 2022 rules, there is a big discontinuity, but they have been more open-minded than before.
“I can appreciate it myself looking at the car, the way it is progressing. We put a lot of innovation into the car,” Binotto explained.
Asked by Motorsport.com how specific he could be when it came to innovation to expect from Ferrari, the team boss said the focus was on the internal combustion engine , as well as less visible chassis components.
“On the power unit, it is significantly different from the current one, except for the hybrid part,” he said. “For this area, we introduced it in 2021, because we anticipated what the regulations would be for the following season.”
“There will be some changes to the hybrid system for 2022, first because of the rules, because the FIA requires more sensors for better control, but the overall system is quite similar to what we had at the end of the year.
“The rest, especially in the internal combustion engine, I have to admit that it is different. We have a new fuel, which is 10% ethanol, which somehow changed the combustion.”
“We all lose about 20 horsepower, which means the combustion has changed a lot, so the opportunity arose to make changes to the development of the power unit, and we did.”
On the chassis , Binotto added: “I think the way we approached this was with a really open mind. We looked at the concept of the car, what was possible or not, not just the external forms, but what could be done underneath. of the bodywork, in terms of layout, suspension design and the entire architecture, including the power unit and its location.
“I think the team has made some significant innovations, and the overall design we are finalizing is quite different from the 2021 project.”
