F1: Ferrari's 2022 Superfast Engine To Feature New Alloy & Standard Layout

Ferrari has been hard at work at Maranello developing a new engine that will put it back on top. In the wake of the technical regulations issues at the end of the 2019 season, Ferrari had a massive performance deficit for 2020 which hasn't been fully fixed even in 2021 because of development restrictions. Its new engine which has been dubbed the Superfast is said to use an innovative new alloy which has to be ready by December end before the engine development freeze kicks in on the 1st of January.

The engine which has been designed by Wolf Zimmermann is currently running on the test bench has also been revised by team leader Enrico Gualtieri. As previously reported, Ferrari has gone back to a traditional layout instead of the split turbo and compressor concept that Mercedes and Honda use and even Alpine could adopt next year. Ferrari was heading in the same direction but has reverted back to a more traditional concept.

Ferrari has its Superfast engine right now on the dyno

The engine will feature a new intake box that will allow for a very low and compact six-cylinder in favour of aerodynamics. Its ignition chamber will have very fast ignition times which is what yields it the Superfast nomenclature. It will even get new intake ducts capable of creating turbulent motions that favour the flame propagation speed for a simultaneous increase in power and improvement in efficiency.

Ferrari also wants to increase the pressure in the chamber and ensure indispensable reliability with is being yielded by the use of new alloys. Right now on the test bench, the targets for power and reliability haven't been reached but Ferrari is reportedly not far off from achieving its internal targets.

Ferrari also has to accommodate for 10 per cent biofuel which is also a major change to the engine. Right now Ferrari's main weakness is straight-line speed and drag. It is often forced to run less wing on tracks that have long straights in the order for it to be not overtaken easily, but this, in turn, hampers cornering performance and also causes tyre degradation issues.