Ferrari will bring a massive update to its 2021 power unit at the Italian GP, something its F1 boss Mattia Binotto has revealed. This may sound strange and like a violation of the 2021 rules but while there are homologation limits in place for engine manufacturers, Ferrari hasn't unleashed all the changes it had planned to make for its 2021 power unit. Till now its engine was still running many 2020 spec components and it plans on introducing updating those 2020 spec bits inside the engine to the 2021 spec at the Italian GP most probably which is its home race and arguably the most engine intensive race track in the world with Monza being dubbed the "temple of speed".
The only issue with the plan is that most likely Charles Leclerc will need to accrue a penalty sometime later this year as his crash in Hungary has left his current power unit useless and he will need to immediately move to a new engine at the Belgian GP which is before the Italian GP.
Mattia Binotto has finally started to shine in his third year as team principal of the Scuderia Ferrari team
Photo Credit: AFP
"We will bring power unit developments. Just to clarify what the regulations are in 2021: you may have a brand new power unit in 2021. It means that you may bring an update in all the components of the power unit, whatever it is ICE, turbo, MGU-H, batteries, MGU-K, etc," said the Ferrari boss who till 2016 was in charge of engine development at the team.
"But what we did at the start of the season, we didn't complete the entire power unit. So there are still components which are the ones of last year. And we will bring an evolution of those. So, I think, that will be for us a significant step for the end of the season," he added.
Binotto believes that Belgium will be a hard race for his team as that's also a traditionally engine intensive circuit with long straights which yield a 0.4-second deficit per lap up against cars that are running a Mercedes or Honda power plant.
"We lack this compared to the best and therefore we consider ourselves to be behind Mercedes and Honda to date. On a track like Belgium, if you look at our simulations, it's a track where the engine matters a lot and on a qualifying lap I think the difference will be significant," he said.
The Ferrari SF21 has seen considerable improvements that should put the Italian team back in its A-game
Things however could be very interesting at Monza which will reflect the true scale of progress Ferrari has made with its 2021 engine which initially seemed to be modest at best. If at Monza, Ferrari can stay ahead of the McLaren cars which are powered by the Mercedes power unit, it would be a huge deal for the team's chances to finish P3 in 2021.
This engine update is different from the new 2022 regulation spec that it intends to bring which could leapfrog the Mercedes and Honda power units. By 2022, the manufacturers are to make significant changes as they have to design engines that will remain the same till 2025 and have to incorporate a 10 per cent mix of biofuel instead of the current 5 per cent mixture.
