Charles Leclerc in boost to 2023 hopes with Ferrari set for upgrades

Mick Schumacher drives his father’s Ferrari F2003-GA

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Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz could chase down Max Verstappen in 2023 with the team set for a major power unit upgrade. Ferrari could be set for a 30bhp boost for next season, according to reports from SoyMotor. Engine developments have already been frozen until F1’s new rules come into effect from 2026.

However, extra pace can be found through improved reliability which is the focus of Ferrari’s plans for the winter. Italian journalist Leo Turini claims Ferrari were not running their car at full power all season due to reliability concerns.

Leclerc won two of the first three races of the season in a sign the Monegasque driver was ready for a title push. But, the car proved unreliable with Leclerc forced out of the Spanish and Azerbaijan Grand Prix while leading.

This allowed Max Verstappen to close up on the Ferrari star despite the Prancing Horse’s initial lead in the standings. Ferrari solved their reliability concerns after the summer break with Leclerc going on to score points in every remaining race.

But, the team suddenly lacked pace with neither driver securing another race win. The Italian marquee was almost caught by Mercedes in both championships after the Silver Arrows introduced new upgrades at the United States Grand Prix.

Team boss Mattia Binotto all but confirmed Ferrari’s power unit predicament earlier on in the season. He told Motorsport Italy that Ferrari focussed purely on performance knowing that reliability concerns could be fixed later on.

He admitted the team even had some fears over their reliability beheading into the first race.

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Binotto explained: “We pushed the limits of performance beyond what would have been a normal reliability plan, and this is because we knew it would be important to close the gap on the competition before the development freeze for four seasons, knowing that reliability issues can always be resolved later.

“This is not to say that we arrived at the first race thinking we were completely unreliable, that was not the case. In the winter tests no problems emerged, but we knew we did not have an ideal situation.

“The problems we had on track which had not emerged in the bench simulations, I think they are typical unexpected events of a new project, and we have to take them into account, I’m not entirely surprised by what happened.”

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