Ferrari took risk with new engine: "We're in a hurry"

Risk taken

The revamped engine seems to be doing its job so far. Especially in Turkey, the Ferrari drivers were right on target in terms of speed and on top of that, the Italian team caught up with rival McLaren in the battle for third place in the championship. Ferrari is now only 7.5 points behind McLaren. The team is very happy with the speed of the new engine.

Nevertheless, the introduction of the new engine was not entirely without controversy. "In Sochi, the first objective was to increase our experience with a view to 2022," team boss Mattia Binotto told Motorsport.com. "That's why we introduced the update as soon as possible when it was ready. We rushed and took risks. It's always a risk assessment. We obviously wanted to get miles on the track and gain experience before 2022, when the power units will be frozen. That was the key for us and that's why we did it."

The small advantage with new engine

So Ferrari is satisfied with the speed of the new engine, but according to Binotto, the time gain is not huge. "It gives us a small advantage. I don't want to put a figure on it because it depends on the circuit. It's not just pure ICE power, it's also energy recovery. So it's a bit complex, but it definitely gives us gains." In Turkey, Leclerc qualified fourth, with a minute lead over the drivers behind him. "Without this specification, he would have lost some places for sure," he said.