Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz has been given a new power unit after a slight issue was detected.
The problem the team have encountered is not a terminal one, meaning that the Spaniard will be able to re-use it in the next few events such as Spain and Monaco during Friday practice.
They cannot simply use it this weekend and then install the new one midway through the weekend, because Friday is an important day for the teams as they prepare for qualifying ahead of the sprint event on Saturday.
READ: Sainz ‘strengthened’ by new Ferrari contract as he looks to challenge Leclerc
This is a smart move from the Scuderia, who have evidently taken into account the budget cap this season, which sits at $140 million.
As a result, the original power unit Sainz used at the beginning of the season has been removed before it is too badly worn so that they do not have to use the new one in each individual session.
That will improve the longevity of future power units, which would all have been put under strain had the Maranello squad run the initial engine until it was irreparably damaged and unusable.
READ: Ferrari’s strategy for Imola upgrades revealed
Further, the new engine is set to give the 27-year-old more power than he had at the start of the year after it was reported following Ferrari’s one-two in Bahrain that they had more power available to them should they wish to deploy it.
The engine is not the only news surrounding Sainz this weekend.
Ferrari confirmed on Thursday that he has signed a new deal that keeps him at the team until at least the end of 2024, after rumours that he had reached an impasse with the Scuderia.
But he did say in Bahrain that he was “very close” to a new contract, and he was amused by the reports by F1-Insider.com.
“You can’t imagine how much I laughed when I read the rumours regarding the problems that would have occurred on my renewal, when I knew it was all done and we were just waiting for Imola to be able to announce it,” he said, quoted by Formu1a.uno.
Championship leader Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, looks set to run this weekend with the engine that has helped him to two wins in the early stages of the 2022 Formula 1 season.