Toto Wolff, the head of the Mercedes F1 team, praised Ferrari’s surge in engine performance during the winter. He said he was a level he had never achieved on his own.
Since the F1 entered the hybrid era in 2014, the Mercedes F1’s power unit has shown dominant strength, but the reset of the technical rules in 2022 seems to have changed its power map.
Although changes to F1 engine regulations are relatively static, changes to more sustainable E10 fuels have forced engine makers to redesign their 2022 F1 engines.
The change seems to be suitable for Ferrari, and it is believed that Ferrari’s power unit is now the benchmark for the grid.
Not only are Ferrari and Charles Leclerc leading in both championships, but engine customers Haas and Alfa Romeo have also shown significant performance improvements.
On the other hand, Mercedes is moving in the opposite direction following the troubles in the early season. In addition to the works team facing popping problems and struggling to release speed from the W13, there are question marks about how good the new Mercedes F1 power unit is.
Not only did the Mercedes F1 fall from the top, but customers Aston Martin, Williams and McLaren were struggling with speed in the opening two rounds.
“I think Ferrari has seen a huge leap since last year,” Toto Wolff told the Sky Sport F1 over the Australian Grand Prix weekend.
Toto Wolff points out that Ferrari’s leap is huge. It goes beyond what the Mercedes F1 engine division, which has broken the title in a row, has achieved.
“Ferrari probably went up from 10kw down to 10kw up, which we haven’t achieved in the past,” Toto Wolff said.
“But if that happened, it’s all their credit.”
Category: Category: F1 / Mercedes / Ferrari