Ferrari decided to change Charles Leclerc’s engine. The Monegasque will start an uphill weekend in Austin, as he will be called to drop five positions on the US GP grid because the Cavallino technicians have approved the fitting of the PU 6 on the F1-75 # 16.
The introduction of the 066/7 fresco has a strategic function: the working group led by Enrico Gualtieri intervened on the technical aspects that undermined the reliability of the Ferrari power unit and, with the full consent of the FIA, changes were made that introduce new solutions (materials rather than treatments) that will be tested in function of 2023.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
There is no doubt that with the adoption of the Superfast engine designed by Wolf Zimmermann, the Scuderia has taken a big step forward in terms of power, but in search of horsepower it has paid a price on the altar of reliability.
It was a precise choice of the team principal, Mattia Binotto aware that with the freezing of the units until the end of 2025 there would be no way to recover performance, while by regulation it would have been allowed to work on the duration.
Zimmermann has made available an innovative 6-cylinder with a new fuel system that allows the combustion chamber to ensure a combustion phase with very rapid ignition times.
Ferrari, therefore, after two years of oblivion in which the engine of the Cavallino had been “deflated” following the secret agreement that had been signed with the FIA for an irregularity never demonstrated in the injection system, is back with a ‘ unit that can rival the best competition.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
The repeated failures that blocked Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz heavily influenced the 2022 season, so in Maranello they chose a conservative way to avoid retirements, also reducing the potential of the engine.
The frequent replacements of the 6 cylinders, to avoid reaching the breaking point of the weakest parts, have allowed the engineers to work on solutions that were not “buffer” but definitive, aiming at engines that must have a life of seven / eight Gran Awards to return to the expected targets for next year.
Leclerc will make use of the PU6 which is an important test bench: Ferrari, in fact, will be able to seek full power again, also adapting the electronic strategies of the hybrid accordingly with a new more thrust mapping: according to rumors we should discover the value of the new ERS introduced on the prince’s F1-75 at Spa-Francorchamps which, so far, has made a name for itself for the weight saving of a couple of kilos, but has hidden the performance improvement.
It will be up to Carlos Sainz to go and aim for pole position in Texas, while Charles in the last four GPs will go hunting to defend the second place in the drivers’ championship, given that his margin from Sergio Perez is only two points.
The new bottom of the Ferrari F1-75 which debuted in Suzuka
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
In Austin it is possible to overcome so it will be interesting to understand if the Scuderia can drop an ace that will allow them to look to the end of the season with the hope of breaking Red Bull’s hegemony with a victory, especially since in the United States it should be evaluated. the actual effectiveness of the last evolution of the fund that appeared in Suzuka, given that in Japan the rain had made it difficult to understand the data that had nevertheless been positive.
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