Ferrari will have to make an important decision this week. Whether or not to use the new engine developed within the ADUO system at Monza. The power units intended for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have already been assembled, but still need to complete a decisive step before being released for racing.
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This decision should happen by the end of the week, when the team will approve the parts to be sent to the Formula 1 Italian GP. The process was delayed by the mandatory August break, which interrupted activities in Maranello and extended the period required for testing the new power unit, identified as 067/6.
Before being used in a race weekend, the new power unit needs to complete an endurance test, equivalent to at least six GPs on the dynamometer, without presenting reliability issues. Ferrari also faces cost and time restrictions, as only two or three of the 21 available test benches are used for this type of work.
Any reliability failure can interrupt the procedure and force the team to restart the entire process after a possible modification. Therefore, Ferrari is still awaiting final authorization to install the ADUO2 engine in Hamilton’s and Leclerc’s SF-26s at Monza.
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The new power unit is expected to deliver approximately 15 additional horsepower, as well as feature a different power curve and improve the hybrid system’s recharging phase. The project also includes changes to the Garrett turbos and the combustion chamber, allowing for better exploitation of the new fuel approved by Shell for the Italian GP.
Ferrari does not arrive in Monza as a favorite for victory, as the circuit’s characteristics do not favor the SF-26. The expectation is to reduce the gap to Mercedes in qualifying, while the GP will also be important to evaluate the new hierarchy of power units after the opportunities granted by ADUO.
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