Ferrari power unit set for late but 'significant' upgrade

Ferrari's drivers will receive a "significant" boost of power in the second half of the season when the Italian outfit rolls out its final engine specification for 2021.

Contrary to its fellow manufacturers, Ferrari's 2021 unit has relied so far on a series of homologated elements from last year. These components are therefore still in line for an upgrade.

Scuderia boss Mattia Binotto anticipates that the new components will help Ferrari narrow the gap to its Mercedes and Red Bull rivals in the back half of the 2021 season.

"The ’21 regulations say you may have a brand new PU in ’21," said Binotto. "So it means you may bring an update in all the components – ICE, turbo, batteries, MGU-H, MGU-K, electronics.

"But with what we made at the start of the season we didn’t complete the full development. There are still parts on it from last year.

"We will bring an evolution to those which will be a significant step for the end of the season and gaining experience for ‘22."

Despite its power deficit relative to Mercedes and Honda, which nevertheless was reduced last winter, Ferrari has enjoyed a clear step forward this season compared to the dismal performance it suffered in 2020 which was arguably Ferrari's worst campaign since the early '80s.

The Italian outfit owes part of its progress this year to the gains achieved by its SF21 chassis, but also on other engineering and operational front, according to Binotto.

"Our objective was to improve in all the areas in 2021," explained the Swiss engineer.

"As an example, the pitstops. I always consider a good pitstop below 3s. That may sound a high number, but in strategy it’s more important to be consistent, not only fast.

"Because what is destroying a race is sometimes a problem and you are stopped for 4.5s or 5s or 6s. 84% of our stops this year have been below 3s. Last year 48%. Pit crew, mechanics – we’ve certainly improved there.

"Last year we were eighth in the pit stops by this measure. Today we are P2, with only one team [Red Bull] doing better than us."

• Read also: Ferrari has 'the best line-up on the grid' - Binotto

Binotto estimated that Ferrari's average deficit to pole in the first half of the season was approximately 0.7s, a shortfall that isn't attributable to a single factor however.

"As a team and a car there are improvements and the direction is encouraging. There are still gaps to the best but that 0.7s deficit is not from any single area but is a sum – of aerodynamics, power unit, overall systems.

"I don’t think we are lacking only in one area – which is good because that would mean you need to recover a lot in that single area. Which can be more difficult."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter