Ferrari’s 2021 power unit will be “very good” and could even rival Mercedes’ engine, which has been the strongest for most of the turbo-hybrid era of Formula One, according to Marc Gene, a test driver for the Scuderia.
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The Maranello-based team had the most powerful engine in 2019, but a couple of technical directives were introduced by the FIA to tighten up a few loopholes in the regulations that Ferrari were believed to be exploiting.
As a result, Ferrari had the weakest power unit in 2020 and all three teams which used its engines struggled with straight-line speed throughout the season.
Ferrari will be running a new power unit this upcoming campaign, and test driver Marc Gene believes it will be much better than its predecessor.
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“We don’t know exactly how much horsepower we have gained, but I have a rough idea,” Gene said.
“I don’t think we have recovered everything we lost compared to 2019, but much of it has been.
“The car is an evolution, but the engine is new.
“Last year Ferrari had the worst engine on the grid, but in 2021 we will have one of the best. I don’t know if it will be as good as Mercedes, but it will be very good,” he added.
Continuing, Gene said that he doesn’t believe Ferrari will be competitive enough to fight for the Championship in 2021, but he hopes they can at least score podiums and perhaps a few victories.
“We are not going to win this year, but hopefully we can take victories in some races.
“Right now our goal is to be on the podiums and to show that last year was an exception in the history of Ferrari.”
Ferrari finished sixth in the 2020 Constructors’ Championship – their worst finishing position since 1980.
The team seems confident that the SF21 will be more competitive than the woeful SF1000, and the new power unit should also help Ferrari have a stronger season, though all three other F1 engine manufacturers have also upgraded their power units this year.
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