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REPORT: Ferrari Leave F1 paddock astonished with major Engine update at Sochi

Published 09/22/2021, 1:43 PM EDT

Charles Leclerc will have a tough job on his hands at the Russian Grand Prix. He is set to start from the back of the grid as a penalty. Ferrari confirmed that they will introduce the updated hybrid system on their power unit at this weekend’s Grand Prix at Sochi, which will lead to a penalty for Leclerc, putting him at the back of the grid.

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Ferrari and their power unit woes

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Ferrari had a fall from grace and struggled massively during the 2020 season due to a very poor power unit in his car. Now, even though they are slowly making their way up the order again, they are yet to reach the pace of Red Bull or Mercedes.

Charles Leclerc will run the new Ferrari engine that is fitted with an upgraded hybrid system at the #RussianGP. It will result in a grid penalty. He will start from the back of the grid. #AMuS
— Tobi Grüner 🏁 (@tgruener) September 22, 2021

The team revealed over the summer break that they were planning to bring a “significant step” in the power unit performance, by developing the power unit massively for the second half of the season.

Ferrari revealed their team preview of the Russian Grand Prix today. The Scuderia revealed that they will be debuting their updated power unit at the Sochi Autodrom. Leclerc will be running the new power unit first as teammate Carlos Sainz will have to wait a while to get the updated hybrid system.

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This decision was sort of a precautionary measure. This is because Leclerc was running a battery pack that was damaged in his Hungarian GP accident.

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Team Preview reveals their Plans ahead of the Russian GP

“Its main purpose is to gain experience for the 2022 car project. A great deal of effort has gone into this, both technically and logistically, and so as to be able to use it as soon as possible, its introduction will be staggered between the drivers.”, read the Ferrari team preview.

“As to when the updated hybrid system is fitted to Carlos’ car, that will be decided following an evaluation of the right compromise between competitiveness and the impact of the penalty.” The statement is further explained.

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This power unit upgrade will definitely be a boost to Ferrari for their fight for third place in the constructor’s championship with Mclaren.

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Riddhi Mondal is an F1 Author at EssentiallySports. Having previously worked as a student reporter at The Statesman, she is an ardent follower of all things F1. A nerd through and through, the complicated physics that goes into the cars is what drew Riddhi to the sport.

REPORT: Ferrari Leave F1 paddock astonished with major Engine update at Sochi

Ferrari and their power unit woes

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Team Preview reveals their Plans ahead of the Russian GP