Ferrari has started the new season strongly. Charles Leclerc has built a gap of 34 points towards the number two in the Drivers’ Championship, while rival Max Verstappen is far away from the top after his retirement in Australia. Yet the Italian team seems to have big plans to increase that gap even further.
The Italian branch of Motorsport.com reports that Ferrari has planned a series of technical interventions to the F1-75 to further increase the gap in the championship, but also to help customer teams Haas and Alfa Romeo. In Imola, the team will not introduce any major updates, but possibly Ferrari will have a modified floor to solve porpoising.
For the Miami Grand Prix, the new hybrid component, which may be homologated by the FIA until September, would make its debut. This includes the three components of the ERS system, which are the MGU-K, the battery and the control unit. The hybrid update should provide more power without losing the engine’s reliability. According to Motorsport.com, Ferrari does not want to wait until the summer to start development, as the team wants to take advantage of the new solution as soon as possible to create a bigger gap to Verstappen’s Red Bull.
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Ferrari’s second engine
The Dutchman’s two DNF’s give Ferrari the chance to run further ahead in the championship. The team would like to extend the lead to more than fifty points in order to create a margin, should Red Bull make big steps in terms of development.
In addition, the team will change engines in Spain and switch to ‘engine 2’. The first engine will still be used during the free practice sessions, so the new engine will have less mileage during the weekends. Due to the hybrid update, Alfa Romeo and Haas are also expected to make moves in the midfield.
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