Ferrari has once again opened up about the performance of its power unit in Formula 1 this season. Despite bringing a second round of upgrades through the ADUO scheme, the Maranello-based squad has honestly admitted that it still lacks 'pure power' to challenge the dominant Mercedes engine.
At the Italian Grand Prix at Monza last weekend, Ferrari introduced the latest engine spec for the SF-26. However, the results fell short of expectations. In qualifying, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton could only secure the second row, while the Mercedes duo of Pierre Gasly and George Russell locked out the front row.
In the race, Leclerc was forced to retire after a heavy first-lap incident with a 60G impact, while Hamilton could only manage sixth place. That situation left the team out of the podium zone, and team boss Frederic Vasseur spoke out about the root cause.
Vasseur: Not About Deployment, but Missing Pure Power
Vasseur explained that the lack of pure power forces the team to play with energy deployment strategies to try to close the gap on straights. However, he stressed that this is not a long-term solution.
"I don't want to give details, but when you lack pure power, you start playing with deployment to try to compensate on one straight. But if you deploy more at one point, you'll deploy less elsewhere, and it becomes a wrong spiral," he said.
Vasseur also noted that the gap to Mercedes at Monza felt "two times bigger" compared to racing at a circuit like Zandvoort. According to him, power-sensitive tracks like Monza truly expose the deficit that Ferrari has.
Nevertheless, he remains optimistic about the development progress. Vasseur has set 2027 as the target when the true competitiveness of the Ferrari engine might emerge, as power unit development takes time and is constrained by the cost cap.
With this situation, Ferrari still has a big task ahead to catch up with Mercedes, especially in the remaining races of the season which will feature more balanced tracks.
Baca Juga
Aston Martin gagal total di Monza: Fernando Alonso mundur karena kerusakan mobil, Lance Stroll karena masalah hidrolik. Tim makin tertekan di klasemen.
Ferrari akui mesinnya masih kurang pure power usai upgrade ADUO kedua di GP Italia. Vasseur sebut gap ke Mercedes dua kali lebih besar di Monza, target 2027.
Isack Hadjar dipastikan absen di GP Spanyol F1 karena cedera pergelangan tangan. Liam Lawson kembali menggantikan di Red Bull, Yuki Tsunoda tetap di Racing Bulls.
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