Ferrari Admits Problems with F1 Engine After Troubling Start to Season

The tifosi may have to resign themselves to another disappointing year. As it turns out, the Ferrari team have been the bearers of bad news. The SF1000‘s 2020 power unit is supposedly not as powerful as its predecessor. This year, Ferrari’s goal is to overcome a straightline speed deficit compared to its rivals.

On the bright side, the new car has improved its cornering potential. However, it is sorely lacking in the power department. This became evident during pre-season testing.

Over the past couple of season, Scuderia Ferrari’s main weapon has been its straightline speed. Unfortunately, team boss Mattia Binotto suspected that low engine performance and a high drag car is to blame for its struggles.

Speaking to Motorsport.com, Binotto said: “I think it’s a combination of the two. I think in terms of overall performance on the power and the engine, we are not as strong as we were last year. We were somehow focused on our reliability and that is somehow compromising eventually the performance.”

Is Ferrari on the back foot?

The surprising confession comes on the back of suspicions over its 2019 power unit. The FIA conducted an investigation after several complaints, but they ended up in a ‘agreement’ with Ferrari, which was kept under wraps.

According to Binotto, the SF1000’s power unit could not reach its full potential. This was largely due to a reliability programme running in the car and limiting its ability to go faster.

Binotto confessed: “We are not hiding. That is our true performance. I think it’s difficult to split on the streets what is drag and what is power, but certainly we we are down on speed compared to other competitors. I think that’s affected by one way from the drag and the other from the reliability programme that we have in place.”