Ferrari tight-lipped over gains from upgraded F1 power unit

Ferrari introduced a new engine - which features a revised hybrid system - on Charles Leclerc’s car at last weekend’s Russian Grand Prix to see how it performs in a real-world setting.

The Italian outfit is determined to improve the performance of its power unit as it looks to capitalise on F1’s rules revolution in 2022 when a freeze on engine development will also come into effect.

Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies said after qualifying on Saturday that the team was “satisfied” with the early signs from the power unit after debuting it on track during Friday practice in Sochi.

“There is no game-changer there but it is working smoothly,” he explained. “It allowed us to run smoothly on Friday and worked good.”

Leclerc reported a noticeable improvement after running the upgrade for the first time on Friday and had been as high as third in the race, before eventually dropping to 15th after staying out too long on slicks when late rain fell.

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto declined to go into detail about the exact performance of the engine upgrade, which is believed to be less than 10bhp.

“No, I don’t want to quantify it,” Binotto said when asked how much time it had brought. “I think that is a fact of our confidentiality.

“It is a step in terms of performance, but as Charles and Laurent said already, more important for us, certainly it has pushed forward as much as we could with that new technology, because it will certainly help in the view of 2022 in terms of the experience we can do.

“But I’m happy now that Charles has got it and got it for the rest of the season, which still is somehow a step.”

After finishing third on the podium in Russia, Carlos Sainz is expected to have the new power unit fitted to his car at the Turkish Grand Prix.

It would result in the Spaniard being hit with a back-of-the-grid start for the race at Istanbul Park.