Ferrari’s 2020 battles resulted in the team launching a new unit for the 2021 season. And while this unit has “definitely improved” the situation, according to team boss Mattia Binotto, Ferrari will introduce another completely new unit at the beginning of the 2022 season to return to the top of F1.
After both Ferraris had qualified around 1.9 seconds behind pole position at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, the 2021 race a few months later showed how far the team had come. Charles Leclerc used the new engine in his Ferrari SF21 to qualify just 0.681 seconds behind pole sitter Max Verstappen in fourth – Binotto said he was pleased with the progress of both the chassis and the engine as Leclerc finished the race finally in sixth, two places ahead of newcomer Carlos Sainz.
READ MORE: Sainz and Leclerc are already looking forward to Imola after Ferrari clinched colons in Bahrain
“In any case, the unit has improved, and I’m happy about that too [Alfa Romeo] and Haas has made progress, ”said Binotto. “I think from our side we made progress in all areas that were possible. The aero is certainly better in terms of behavior [and] the correlation, but the aggregate, the car, overall, wherever it was possible to make improvements, we tried to make it.
“It’s an overall package, so I wouldn’t really break it down into sections – it’s the overall package that is better now and that is enough.”
Despite winning this season, Ferrari’s ultimate goal is to take pole positions instead of seeing how close their drivers get to the times of Red Bull and Mercedes. And Binotto accepted that despite the advances Ferrari had made from 2020 to 2021, there was still more to be done – another new engine, Maranello, will hit the market in 2022, in parallel with the radical new Formula 1 aerodynamic regulations that are coming online walk.
READ MORE: McLaren isn’t surprised with Ferrari resurgence – and looks forward to the battle ahead
“I would say that we lack it in all areas,” said Binotto when asked what improvements he would like to see in his team. “I think we’re still lacking the engine, certainly less than before, so the gap has closed and I think we’re getting closer.
“Hopefully next year, when we have a new unit again, we can catch up or have a benchmark for the others. I’m also thinking of the aerodynamics – medium and high speed downforce – I think it’s a total package again. But now the differences are getting narrower. More importantly, I think we are working in the right direction with the right tools and that will make us stronger in the future. “
Ferrari’s relatively strong start to the season means that the team takes fourth place in the constructors’ championship after the first lap, two places before the end of the 2020 season.
