If the first two races are any indication, Ferrari will have to race in 2022 with their own power unit, as even their customer teams appear to be enjoying straight line speed.
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Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto claims that his team is much better prepared to compete with its rivals in 2022 in terms of development than it was previously. With a long season, development will be the name of the game this year, and while Binotto admits his team couldn’t keep up with others in that department in previous years, the Scuderia has since gotten their act together.
“Keeping up the level on a long season is a challenge, not just for us but all the teams,” Binotto told F1’s official website. “It’s true that our competitors have very strong development; in 2017 and ‘18 we lost a bit of ground.”
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“But since then, in car design, we have improved our [wind] tunnel, technologies, processes and simulations and so today we are much better prepared than in the past to do a good job with development. We [also] have a budget cap which will affect the rate of development – we need to make sure we have the right policy on that, as it could be a game-changer in the fight for development,” he added.
If the first two races are any indication, Ferrari will have to race in 2022 with their own power unit, as even their customer teams appear to be enjoying straight line grunt, which represents a significant turnaround for the Italian outfit.
“Last year we had a disadvantage and we tried to catch up and now we are more in line,” Binotto revealed. “In the first two races, so far it seems the difference is very little – and we are reaching a convergence. Where [the engine] was a disadvantage for us last year, it isn’t anymore,” he added.
Charles Leclerc’s “mindset and mentality” have evolved, according to Ferrari ambassador and long-time test driver Marc Gene, as the Monegasque driver aspires to win his first Formula One World Championship title in 2022. In a much-improved Ferrari package, Leclerc has taken a victory and a P2 in the first two races of the season, and is now leading the drivers’ standings, while the Scuderia is comfortably leading the teams’ table. Gene discussed how Leclerc has changed for this season in our F1 Nation podcast, which was recorded after Leclerc won the Bahrain Grand Prix from pole.
“Charles, he used to be very emotional and this year he has changed a lot. Charles is like a 2.0 version of himself. When I went to Barcelona for the private testing, we spent a lot of time together and he was completely changed in his mindset and his mentality, and you can see it,” he said.
