A TOKEN UPGRADE?
For its home event, Ferrari spent its final three engine development tokens in order to further enhance its internal combustion engine (ICE). The initial gains in terms of performance would appear rather modest if one glances at the gap to Mercedes in qualifying and the race. However, some Italian sources claimed the latest Ferrari power unit was not fully exploited due to reliability concerns. The update would be a step to facilitate the development of Ferrari’s 2017 model.
Both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen received a new ICE (latest spec), turbocharger, MGU-H, battery and control electronics. This means that the two team-mates will likely have to serve engine penalties later this season, with Vettel using a fifth ICE, turbo, and MGU-H while Raikkonen is on his fifth turbo, MGU-H, and MGU-K. Both drivers are on the fourth of each of their other PU components.
Ferrari-powered Haas mounted a new ICE (latest spec), turbocharger, and MGU-H on Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez’s VF-16s. Meanwhile, Sauber, which also uses Ferrari engines, should introduce the upgrade later as it is currently on a different plan of lifecycle management.
Here is a quick run-down on how Ferrari has spent its entire 32-token allocation: 23 over the winter, three in Russia (combustion chamber), two in Canada (turbocharger), one in Austria (camshaft), and three in Italy (combustion chamber).
So far, Mercedes has used 26 of its 32 tokens to further develop the dominant PU106C: 19 over the winter, two in Russia (fuel system), and five in Belgium (probably on the turbocharger and MGU-H). The German manufacturer still has six tokens to spare, which could be used at Suzuka next month.
Honda has three tokens left after spending 29 as follows: 18 over the winter, two in Canada (turbocharger), two at Silverstone (fuel system), and seven at Spa (combustion chamber and turbo).
Finally, Renault has been the most economical in its token spend with only 11 used on its R.E.16, out of the allocated 32. The French constructor shelved seven tokens over the winter, one in Bahrain and three for its B-spec version (combustion chamber) introduced at Monaco.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner hinted at Monza that there could be “some tokens spent” ahead of the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix, with Cyril Abiteboul confirming the news to F1i. The upgrade would target the injection system, with Total introducing a new spec of fuel simultaneously.
