Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsFerrari

Ferrari made 'innovative choices' with power unit

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Ferrari made some "innovative choices" in the development of its new power unit for the 2016 season.

Following a disappointing first year with the V6 turbo power units in 2014, Ferrari made a clear step forward with its engine last year and was comfortably the second fastest team behind Mercedes. In order to try and close the gap to the defending champions even further, Ferrari power unit director Mattia Binotto says significant changes have been made.

GALLERY: Ferrari SF16-H

"Compared to last season we have worked on two areas," Binotto said. "First architecture, so we have tried to compact it in order to have a positive impact on aerodynamics. The car is tighter and narrower compared to last year. We tried to move all the accessories.

"But we did not work only on architecture, we tried to improve combustion for example, inlet aspiration and also the turbo.

"This is the first step compared to the past, a step forward, so we have made important technical choices and innovative choices."

Alongside the power unit development, Ferrari claims to have been "very, very ambitious" with its design of the new SF16-H, which was unveiled during an online launch on Friday.

Ferrari will supply Sauber and Haas with power units in 2016, while Toro Rosso will also run 2015-specification Ferrari engines.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.