Ferrari has a great point in its favor this year and also several against it. One of the main ones took Carlos Sainz away from the podium in Austria and Mattia Binotto has offered his explanations regarding this and other mechanical problems.
Carlos Sainz He prematurely ended the Austrian Grand Prix when he saw his engine break violently as he prepared to overtake Max Verstappen on lap 56 of the 71 he had to complete.
This has had a direct effect on the Spanish driver’s championship aspirations this season. And it has also delved a little deeper into the Ferrari reliability issueswhich this year has a very competitive car and power unit, but also excessively fragile.
“In the last few months, we have pushed a lot on performance, but we can fix reliability”
Especially the power unit, which after two seasons in which its performance has been quite discreet, has once again positioned itself as a reference on the grid. And it is that Ferrari wanted to put all the meat on the grill to develop a propellant whose development has been frozen by regulations until the end of 2025.
It may seem risky to stretch the development of an engine that cannot be changed for three years, but motorcyclists know that they have done it with a safety net– While performance cannot be improved during this freeze period, modifications can be made in the event of reliability issues.
Therefore, Ferrari’s concern is really small, because they know that they have created a highly competitive engine that, little by little, will end up being reliable. Of course, it remains to be seen that it will be this season. A year in which they did not expect to fight for the world title, but in that sense it has gone better than expected.
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The same problem of Baku
But beyond all that, for Ferrari it is important to identify the problem and give it a solution. Something that they have actually already done, because Carlos Sainz’s problem at the Red Bull Ring seems to be the same as the one Charles Leclerc suffered in Baku.
“So far, we have only had two engine failures in the season.. The others have been related to problems stemming from the power unit components rather than problems related to the internal combustion engine.”
Although on that occasion Ferrari stated that the failure had not been caused by a design flaw or a reliability problem, Binotto himself admits that it is probably not true and that it has been reproduced in Austria again.
“We need to understand what happened to Sainz. Is this the same problem Charles had in Baku? It is very probable. It is certainly a concern, but the people of Maranello are working hard to solve the problem.
solutions on the way
“Obviously, looking at what happened to Carlos, (the problem) still hasn’t been fixed. But we have new elements and I know how strong and functional they are. I can count on them, I know that the problem will be solved very soon, I hope as soon as possible, “reiterates Binotto.
In other words, the measures adopted to tackle the reliability problem associated with the engine are already being developed and, when they are finished, they will be implemented in the new power units used later in the season.
“Engine-wise we are facing some reliability issues and it is a frozen engine for the next few seasons. But we can fix reliability. In the last couple of months, we’ve pushed a lot on performance.”Binotto admits regarding the approach taken by Ferrari this year.
“I don’t feel like pointing the finger at anyone, on the contrary. We will work to improve reliability, we have already been able to do it. Many times there are no solutions in the engine that can be found in a few days”, explains the Italian engineer, who before becoming director of the Scuderia was an engine engineer.
«There are pieces to modify, redesign, produce and homologate. The process is long. But also we have an excellent base for the next seasons and that is something very important»he concludes.
Font: motorsport.com
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Photos: Scuderia Ferrari