Ferrari say new engine ‘definitely a large step’

Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies said there is “no doubt” that they have taken a large step forward with their 2021 power unit.

Ever since engine-related technical directives were issued at the United States Grand Prix in 2019, Ferrari have struggled for power.

After that FIA intervention they went from the team with the most powerful engine, to struggling to keep up with the other manufacturers down the straights.

2020 was another poor season as the Scuderia fell into the midfield pack, finishing up P6 in the Constructors’ Championship, while their customer teams Alfa Romeo and Haas scored only eleven points combined.

But, as Ferrari plot their recovery, a better engine to power the SF21 will be crucial. And now Mekies has confirmed that the team have for certain taken a “large step forward” with the latest power unit.

“The engine is better, there is no doubt,” he is quoted by RaceFans.net.

“We don’t need to come to the track to know it, in the way that we have dynos, we know that the engine has made a large step forward.

“Is it enough? It depends how much the other guys progress in the meantime. We have no way to estimate that apart from our own experience in developing [power units]. So I think it will take a race or two to estimate where everybody is at.

“We are in the phase where we are making sure that we have on the track what we are supposed to have. We try not to get distracted by what’s around us.

“We need to make sure that what was at the factory is delivered. This is true for the engine, it is true for the aero, it is true for the car suspension [et cetera].”

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Ferrari’s star prospect Charles Leclerc is gearing up for his third season with the team, and for 2021 he has a new team-mate in the form of Carlos Sainz who arrives from McLaren.

The pair have both said that they will put the interests of the team first this season as they look to build the foundations for a recovery up the order.

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