Formula 1: Ferrari set for improved 2021-2022 season

Ferrari have made “quite a good step” ahead of the 2021 Formula 1 season according to returning driver Charles Leclerc. 

The Italian outfit endured their worst season in 40 years in 2020 and are aiming to bounce back from their sixth-place finish in the Constructors’ Championship.

Ferrari’s struggles last season were attributed to the team’s ailing power unit department, an issue compounded by the car’s excess drag. 

Leclerc said: “There has been a lot of work. We have been pushing quite a lot. It always looks positive on paper but then we need to see what the others have done as a step.”

The Scuderia spent the 2020 season with a diminished engine after agreeing a sealed settlement with the FIA regarding the team’s power unit from the season before. 

Ferrari have always denied the allegations made against their 2019 car, although team principal Mattia Binotto admitted that the team’s development was hampered by regulation clarifications issued ahead of last season.

The main issue was the straight-line speed last year – not only power but power and drag

– Mattia Binotto

Ferrari have emphasised engine development during the winter, building a new power unit with the aim of rectifying the issues that slowed the car down in 2020.

Binotto said: “The main issue was the straight-line speed last year – not only power but power and drag. We have worked a lot on the power-unit and the aerodynamics to reduce the drag. And based on what we can see we recovered quite a lot of speed on the straights.

“I am expecting the speed not to be as much of an issue as it was. I hope we can be competitive but we believe it is certainly more efficient, both from the aero and power-unit point of view.”

On the track, 23-year-old Leclerc will lead Ferrari into the new season. The Monegasque starlet replaces four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel as the team’s number one driver after two impressive seasons with the Italian giants.

I improved a lot last year and I hope there will be another step this year

– Carlos Sainz

Speaking at Ferrari’s team launch last month, the former Sauber driver said: “I have never been in [the] Ferrari [factory as much] as before this season. We have been doing quite a bit of tests with the old car. I feel very ready.

“I have been working in a similar way as in the past, trying to understand what were my weaknesses last year.

“I still believe tyre management is something I should push. I improved a lot last year and I hope there will be another step this year.”

Leclerc will be supported by new teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. for the first time at the Bahrain Grand Prix on 26-28 March. The 26-year-old, who will make his 120th Formula 1 entry at the Bahrain International Circuit, admitted that it will be “difficult” to topple Leclerc in his first season at Ferrari.

However, Sainz added: “In five years, my target is to be world champion. I believe Ferrari is the right place to achieve that. We just need a bit of time to make it happen.”

Both Ferrari drivers have cautiously supported F1 bosses’ plans to implement sprint races during the upcoming season. Sainz, who spent last season alongside Lando Norris at McLaren, stressed that the new format remains unchartered territory for everyone involved.

“Until we try it, we will never know,” Sainz told reporters last month. “It is super-important the grand prix does not lose value. It is a bit dangerous that sometimes there can be two winners out of a grand prix weekend and we need to make sure there is only one winner. But if there is a year to try it, it is 2021.”

Testing ahead of the new season begins on 12 March in Bahrain. The Australian GP, the traditional F1 curtain-raiser, is scheduled to take place on 21 November and was pushed back due to the Covid-19 pandemic.