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Scuderia Ferrari have reportedly developed a "super light" power unit ahead of the much-awaited 2022 season. With regulation changes next season, this might play into the plans for the return of F1's most successful team.
With regulations potentially making the 2022 F1 cars the heaviest ever in the sport, the Maranello-based team seems to be looking at ways to work around this and come up with a package that can challenge leaders Mercedes and Red Bull. They also need to overcome the loss of horsepower they already face as a result of the change in fuel to E10 standards. The lighter engines could potentially pave the way for the team to return to the top.
Ferrari is also reported to have been working on several "super light" parts with a new supplier. There were earlier reports of them developing an optimized oil management technology.
Ferrari's 'superfast' 2022 PU has a lot of innovation, says Binotto
Ferrari team principal Matia Binotto said the 2022 Power Unit under development was 'superfast' and that the improvements had been 'obvious'. He continued :
“I think we’ve made a big step in PU. Because if you compare it to the past, in 2020 the Power Unit was our big weakness and we were a long way behind. If you look at where we are today, then the developments are obvious.”
Binotto also added that the P3 in the Constructors' standings in 2021 set them up well for next year, with what looks like a more equal playing field next season.
“I think [the result] is giving us some serenity as well through the wintertime, which is important… because of what we are facing for 2022, which is a completely new challenge, a very difficult one.”
Ferrari took third podium position in the F1 constructors' standings in 2021 after a rather dismal season in 2020. The resurgence of the team was courtesy of its drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, who finished the 2021 season P5 and P7 respectively in the drivers' standings. The culmination of Ferrari's 2021 season was topped by the Spaniard clinching a podium in the season finale at the Yas Marina.
