With the homologation of the latest evolution of the 066/7 power unit hybrid system, Ferrari has definitively frozen its engine until the end of the 2025 season. For the next three years, that will be the engine that the Prancing Horse uses . will be used, unless the FIA agrees to make some reliability-related adjustments.
However, they are not the only ones, as the rest of the manufacturers, Mercedes, Renault and Red Bull Powertrains [Honda in disguise] are also in the same situation. The power unit of the Italians used in the last Italian Grand Prix in Monza marked 1,024 CV, a figure in the line of Honda and Mercedes, and with Renault on the prowl, but still behind.
The international federation planned to reach a confluence of power values before the ‘ freeze ‘, in order to zero out research in the blocked parts and reduce costs, as well as heading into a new era in line with the world of the automotive
The financial regulations for the 2023 season will impose a budget limit of 95 million dollars [just over 98 million euros at the current exchange rate] until the end of 2025, while when the new engines are released in 2026, it will rise to 130 million [about 134 million euros].
For this reason, it is necessary to pay attention to the personnel directed by Enrico Gualtieri , who may see their job in danger. La Gestione Sportiva will have to face a reduction in its workforce at Ferrari, since it will not be necessary to produce a hundred engines per course, nor occupy all the test benches or allocate groups to experiments to achieve performance.
In short, the engines will lose the value they had since the beginning of the hybrid era, and all the importance will go to the chassis and aerodynamics, although the teams want to maximize the reliability of their units. To do this, they will work on the efficiency of the single-seater, also trying to reduce weight and generate less resistance to air flow.
For all these reasons, it is inevitable that the manufacturers in Formula 1 must reduce the number of their employees to adapt to the new demands. Ferrari has taken note of this, and its boss, Mattia Binotto , has spoken with all the parties involved to build a plan in which they can study how to relocate those who could say goodbye to the team.
It is true that the design area has already been oriented towards the 2026 power unit , but the endothermic unit that will have to replace the current one will have so many limitations in the standards [dimensions, common parts and different solutions], while the electrical part that will have to guarantee the recovery of 50% of the power will be totally new, with less freedom to facilitate the progress of brands that enter the category, such as Audi or, possibly, Porsche.
Mercedes, for example, is not replenishing its workforce after the mass exodus to Red Bull Powertrains, and they are only selecting strategic positions. It even seems that Audi, which is preparing for its Grand Circus landing, could turn to specialists from Brixworth, and they look to Maranello.
Formula 1 has entered a phase of transformation, in which the key word is efficiency . The diversification of the activities tries to save costs, and in addition everything must be investigated about the new ecological fuels.
The world of engines is in full evolution, and biofuels with zero fossil components will be used in a mandatory way in 2026, so it is vital to extend the useful life of endothermic propellants well beyond 2035, a deadline imposed by political bodies in the automotive industry.
Synthetic gasoline exists, it could be affordable, but, at the moment, nobody produces it in the quantities necessary to satisfy a market. That is the main issue that needs to be resolved, and despite the fact that Aramco , which has a “forward vision”, is involved in Formula 1 as a main sponsor, the oil companies prefer to extract the crude to produce electricity, instead of converting it. in hydrogen, much more ecological than the current fuel in the highest category of motorsport.
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