F1: Ferrari's Leclerc To Take Grid Penalty, Will Get A Upgraded Engine At Sochi

Charles Leclerc and his Ferrari are set for an engine penalty at the upcoming Russian GP this weekend. Leclerc's engine was destroyed after his crash at the Hungarian GP and so grid place penalties for a new engine were inevitable. What's interesting is that Ferrari is using the opportunity to deploy its new engine update which had earlier been scheduled for the Italian GP. Ferrari had homologated many elements of the engine which weren't deployed at the start of the year and insiders believe that this update could yield a boost of 10 to 15 bhp which could significantly improve its performance on tracks that have fast corners and long straights, something that has been a huge weakness of the team since the start of the 2020 season after technical directives were issued which curtailed its class of the field engine from 2019. 

Also Read: Ferrari to gain 10 bhp with new engine update 

Leclerc currently leads his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr in points 

"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," Ferrari said.

"Charles will be the first to have the new hybrid system. This decision is a precautionary measure relating to the potential risk of using the battery pack damaged in his Hungarian GP accident. In Sochi, Leclerc will have a brand new power unit and will therefore start from the back of the grid," the team added. 

This comes after Leclerc's teammate revealed that his engine update may not happen even at the Turkish GP which was widely expected. Ferrari has struggled on tracks that have long straights and the drivers have been particularly vulnerable when there is a restart after a safety car period and when they are being chased by a car that is in its tow and has DRS. 

On the flip side, the SF21 has proven to be one of the fastest cars on slow speeds circuits and it even managed to garner two pole positions in Monaco and Baku. In Monaco Leclerc couldn't convert his pole position due to a mechanical problem on the out lap before the race and hence had to retire while in Baku he was soon overtaken by the Mercedes and Red Bull cars on the long straight at Baku. 

Ferrari has made huge improvements to the hybrid system of the engine 

In Italy, McLaren managed a 1-2 finish which has led to it extending its lead over Ferrari for P3 in the constructor's championship. This engine update will help Ferrari close the performance gap to McLaren which uses the more powerful Mercedes engine. At the start of the season Ferrari's deficit was said to be around 20 bhp to Mercedes and this could be halved with this new update. 

For Ferrari, this update is a preamble to a completely redesigned new engine which it will deploy at the start of the 2022 season as it aims to reclaim engine ascendency over Mercedes, Honda, and Renault before the engine development freeze that kicks in at the start of the year going all the way up to 2025.