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Accidentally Discloses Ferrari 2019 Punishment for Former F1 Driver
Regarding the legitimacy of their 2019 engine, Ferrari found themselves in the middle of a maelstrom of dispute. They had a power unit that could compete with Mercedes and helped them win a few races. Other teams, though, questioned whether Ferrari was abusing FIA rules by consuming too much fuel.
Regarding the legitimacy of Ferrari’s power unit, Red Bull took the initiative and made a formal complaint. The FIA came to the conclusion that Ferrari’s power unit was neither lawful nor illegal following a thorough assessment.
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We must go back to the beginning of the 2019 campaign in order to completely comprehend the scenario. Rival teams had seen a decrease in the Ferrari vehicles’ straight-line performance as early as the second Bahraini race.
Just a couple of weeks after Melbourne, where Ferrari had a lackluster campaign and was losing time on every straight and corner, its performance advantage in Sakhir was suddenly solely based on the time it was gaining on the straights.
Rivals kept a close eye on things as the season went on, and it became clear at Monza when Ferrari was gaining as much as one second per lap on the straightaways. This was made clear by studying GPS data and being aware that any straightline speed advantage there is down to power and not aero efficiency (as all teams run minimum drag).
Rival teams were unable to comprehend or explain that kind of advantage.
Even with the benefit of DRS and a slipstream during the race, Lewis Hamilton had no chance of overtaking Charles Leclerc, who eventually won.
As the season came to a close, rival manufacturers were still perplexed about Ferrari’s edge, and two theories about what the Italian team might be doing surfaced.
The first was that oil may enter the combustion process through a controlled leak through the intercooler, helping to temporarily boost power.
The second hypothesis suggested that Ferrari had management allow the fuel flow rate to briefly exceed the 100 kg/h restriction between the locations when FIA measurements were made. More gasoline might then be used to generate more power once it reached the engine.
Despite the accusations, the FIA checked Ferrari and never discovered anything suspicious. At each race, the vehicle cleared scrutineering inspection.
Red Bull spoke to the FIA in advance of the Mexican Grand Prix, however, seeking clarity on whether or not using a technology that circumvented the fuel flow sensor would be permitted. Such inquiries are frequently made to learn what competitors are doing,
The ruling body answered that such a system would not be permitted. It was obvious that manipulating the fuel flow rate to increase it before the measurements were collected would be prohibited.
On the eve of the US Grand Prix, Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s head of single seater affairs, informed all teams via a technical directive that two technical restrictions would prohibit such fuel flow functions.
As follows:
Article 5.10.3: Each car must be equipped with a single fuel flow sensor that is completely housed inside the gasoline tank and was created to a specification established by the FIA’s authorised supplier. Only authorized uses of this sensor are permitted, according the FIA. Additionally, every fuel delivery to the power unit must go through this homologated sensor and be made by the fuel injectors outlined in Article 5.10.2 before being made to the combustion chambers.
5.10.5: It is forbidden to use any tool, method, or process that would enhance the flow rate or store and reuse fuel after the measuring point.
Salo explained how Ferrari was penalized by the FIA in 2020 for using an illegal engine in 2019.
Former F1 driver and current FIA racing official Mika Salo has disclosed private information about the FIA’s agreement with Ferrari on their contentious 2019 power unit and claims Ferrari has been fined for the full F1 2020 season.
After carefully examining Ferrari’s 2019 power unit, the FIA came to an agreement with them in early 2020, but they chose not to disclose the details because rival teams had repeatedly contacted them over the previous season.
Due to the unusually high output of their power unit in qualifying mode, Ferrari came under the spotlight in the second part of 2019, and Red Bull made a direct enquiry to the FIA expressing their suspicion that Ferrari had discovered a means to trick the fuel flow sensors.
Ferrari’s power unit was deemed to be lawful after the FIA gave many technical guidelines and Ferrari was not found guilty. However, the FIA said on February 28, 2020 that it had finished examining Ferrari’s powertrain and had come to a secret “understanding” with the Italian team.
Salo said Ferrari had to use less gasoline than the maximum permitted 100 kg/h for the whole F1 season in 2020 as payback for using too much fuel for the most of 2019 when they were able to trick one FIA-in-the-sensor, during a live Twitch broadcast with rally driver Kristian Sohlberg.
What went wrong for Ferrari?
Ferrari unintentionally installed a set of brand-new soft tires on Leclerc’s car during his first run in the final round of qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Prior to handing him a fresh set of the red-walled compound for the last Q3 efforts, the team had planned to send him out on used softs for the first run.
Over the radio, Leclerc enquired about the tire call, to which the team responded, “Sorry, that was a mistake. After deciding against doing another run, he finished the session in fourth place overall, over eight tenths of a second slower than Max Verstappen’s best time.
After qualifying, Leclerc remarked, “I assume there was a miscommunication, it wasn’t a big deal. “But certainly I brought it up because I was a little taken aback.
After serving a power unit penalty, Leclerc will start the race from position 16 on the grid, one position behind title contender Verstappen who will also experience a grid drop.
Verstappen finished nearly six tenths of a second ahead of the competition after skipping his final run in Q3, highlighting his dominance at Spa.
Red Bull, in Leclerc’s opinion, had been “very strong” throughout the Spa weekend, and its speed had come as “a surprise, since I guess we anticipated to cut the gap in qualifying a little bit more.”
It is a wide gap. I thus hope that it will change in Zandvoort. But before that, tomorrow’s race is coming up, and we appear to be a little more competitive. We’ll see how it turns out.
George Russell, a Mercedes driver, has picked Verstappen to come from 15th on the grid and win the race. Verstappen acknowledged that he would be disappointed if he could not make a comeback to place third.
If he maintains his pace from today, Leclerc added, “I will also be sad if I don’t get back on the podium, but since he’s with me, it’s going to be very difficult for me to go back on the podium.”
But we never know, right? We can regain the lead with a strong first stint and a clean race, I’m confident.
Where did Ferrari make a mistake?
Hungary’s BUDAPEST — Ferrari provided two distinct justifications for their disappointing performance in Hungary on Sunday night. Charles Leclerc, the race driver, faulted the strategy, and Mattia Binotto, the team manager, blamed the car’s performance.
The messaging between the team manager and the driver was noticeably different, even though the two statements weren’t entirely unrelated. Leclerc thought the race could have been won. By crossing the finish line in sixth place, he had closed the 80-point gap between himself and Max Verstappen for the championship. Binotto declined.
In what ways did Ferrari deceive in 2019?
Salo disclosed that the primary cause of the loss of power was due to the FIA punishing Ferrari and its client teams by requiring them to utilize less fuel.
- According to reports, as part of the punishment, Ferrari was required to use less fuel.
- Less gasoline meant that its 2020 engine performed worse.
- The same punishment was meted out to Ferrari customer teams as well.
Numerous whispers and rumors suggested that Ferrari had cheated with their 2019 engine. And while the team was unbeatable on power-hungry tracks in 2019, a sudden change in technical regulations brought on by an FIA inquiry produced a large loss in power, which is one of the key causes of Ferrari and its client teams’ extreme performance decline in 2020. Ferrari disclosed a covert arrangement with Formula 1 at the outset of the 2020 season, although the company wasn’t formally accused of wrongdoing. The renowned Italian team was subject to some penalties under the terms of the agreement with the authorities, according to former F1 driver and F1 Stewart Mika Salo, who was speaking to Finnish rally driver Kristian Sohlberg.
Salo disclosed that one of the primary causes of the lack of power was due to the FIA punishing Ferrari and its client teams by requiring them to utilize less fuel. Salo added of the Alfa Romeo team, which is employing a new Ferrari power unit, “They suffered from Ferrari’s cheat last year since they had Ferrari engines and were forced to use less fuel. So I think so Alfa Romeo may be in a strong position if they can perform at their best in the race this season.”
“They are permitted to run the engine at full capacity, albeit I’m not sure if it’s a new one. Due to Ferrari, they were not permitted the previous year “Salo elaborated.
Salo may be correct, but it is also true that Ferrari will introduce a brand-new powertrain in 2021 and may do the same in 2022. Both Mattia Binotto, the head of Ferrari, and Fred Vasseur, the head of Alfa Romeo, have previously declared that Ferrari will have a competitive power unit in 2021 that is not the worst on the grid.