Carlos Sainz, Guanyu Zhou, and Mick Schumacher scheduled for power unit changes in Silverstone
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Carlos Sainz, Guanyu Zhou, Mick Schumacher are all making multiple changes to their power units, and penalties look likely in the future.
Ferrari have been having problems with engine and component reliability these past few races. In the last 4 races, Charles Leclerc retired twice, while Carlos Sainz also retired once. Because of the reliability issues, Leclerc had to take a penalty in Canada, which meant he started 19th on a weekend where Ferrari had the pace to compete for the victory.
The reliability issues are not limited to just Ferrari themselves, but also their customer teams – Alfa Romeo and Haas. Zhou Guanyu has retired three times this season, once with a hydraulic issue, once with a water leak, and once with a power loss. Kevin Magnussen’s two mechanical retirements have come from a water pressure issue and a power unit issue.
In such a situation, where the components either fail or last less, it is obvious that one will have to take engine penalties at some point. While Carlos Sainz has been able to avoid engine penalties till now, it is not out of the question that he will have to take them at some point in the season. The same goes for the other drivers as well.
Engine penalties likely in the future
Carlos Sainz’s chassis has already been replaced this weekend, due to problems with the fuel system. While that doesn’t incur penalties, it is not ideal. Moreover, he also has a new turbo, MGU-H, and MGU-K this weekend, but as it is still in the pool, it doesn’t incur any penalties either.
He is joined in this by his teammate Charles Leclerc, who has taken a new exhaust system, with no penalties. Aside from the Ferrari duo, Haas’ Mick Schumacher and Guanyu Zhou are also taking new engine components this weekend. Engine penalties look likely for them in the future.
As for Ferrari, while their engine has certainly looked fast, reliability has been a problem for them. One can assume that once they are rid of the reliability woes that all three teams will be more competitive than they currently look. While Ferrari has undoubtedly been the quicker car in the past few races, reliability has compromised them, and they’ll hope they can sort out their issues.
Also Read: “Luck will change,” Mick Schumacher hopes to score in Silverstone after an unfortunate Canadian GP
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)