Romain Grosjean, Haas, Shanghai International Circuit, 2019

Ferrari customers won’t run upgraded power unit in Spain

2019 Spanish Grand Prix

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Ferrari’s customer teams Haas and Alfa Romeo won’t run their upgraded Formula 1 power unit at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.

The works team has brought forward the introduction of its ‘spec two’ 2019 engine by four weeks as it races to close the gap to Mercedes in the constructors’ championship. However Haas team principal Guenther Steiner confirmed the new engine is not available to them this weekend.

“We are not able to have it,” said Steiner. “I just heard what they are doing, I [didn’t] know what they are doing because as you may known they don’t tell me what they are doing.

“At the moment I think it’s planned that we put the engine in either Monte-Carlo or Canada.”

The decision marks a change from previous seasons, when Ferrari’s customer teams ran the newer power unit first. “Last year I think we put it in before them,” said Steiner. “It was the opposite way around and everybody said ‘Why’d you do that?’

“Doing it at the same time is always logistically very difficult for them so one reason or the other, depending on the upgrade, they asked us if we are OK and we are fine with it.

“They need to manage the engine and the mileage and all that stuff, there’s no point if we interfere so we are pretty happy with what they suggested.”

Steiner also confirmed Haas uses a different specification of Shell fuel to Ferrari.

“It is just a decision we took – that is it, there is nothing behind it,” he said. “It’s just a little bit of a different spec, there is nothing in it.”

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12 comments on “Ferrari customers won’t run upgraded power unit in Spain”

  1. ColdFly (@)
    9th May 2019, 13:58

    I [didn’t] know what they are doing because as you may known they don’t tell me what they are doing.

    they asked us if we are OK and we are fine with it.

    1. @coldfly – I think the latter statement was about taking on PUs in advance of the Scuderia (Monaco, IIRC, for one)

      1. I suppose so @phylyp, because otherwise, as @coldfly indicated, it’s a bit contradictory – would have been nice to have a clearer indication of what was meant exactly. Also because, eh, wasn’t the PU manufacturer required to offer the same spec PU to all users at the same time? So if this year the Ferrari customers were not offered the choice, that’s a bit fishy. So either it’s contradictory, or possibly illegal then? Well, not my problem I guess?

  2. Different spec grapefruit juice ???

    1. F1oSaurus (@)
      9th May 2019, 17:51

      They don’t get the grapefruit juice. Just the glas

  3. Interesting development..
    last year

    2018 F1 season Posted on
    23rd February 2018, 10:47 | Written by Keith Collantine

    Formula One power unit manufacturers have been told they must supply equal engines to their customer teams in a new rules clarification issued by the FIA, RaceFans has learned.

    The sport’s governing body believes “some [power units] are being operated in a different way to others being supplied by the same manufacturer”, leaving the customer team potentially at a disadvantage.

    https://www.racefans.net/2018/02/23/fia-tweaks-rules-to-make-engine-customers-more-competitive/

    1. Interesting indeed.

    2. Bruno Verrari
      9th May 2019, 14:53

      Cannot find anything about ”simultaneously”, ”at every race” or ”at the same time”…
      Do you?

    3. DAllein (@)
      9th May 2019, 14:55

      You are misinterpreting this requirement.

      Basically it means that all “Spec 1” engines for all teams must be identical, there can be no case when Main Team’s “Spec 1” is better than Customer’s “Spec 1”.

      But no one prohibits the Manufacturer to introduce “Spec 2” only for themselves and to Customers – later (of course not taking into account any contractual clauses).

    4. ColdFly (@)
      9th May 2019, 14:56

      That means it must be equal, not ‘when’ teams will run it. Expect the next PU to be fitted by AR and RP to be the same spec.
      There can be various reasons: not enough new spec PU available; teams preferring to use a new PU and different venues; previous PU breaking down before its planned replacement, etc.
      Last year this happened as well.

      1. Ah right, so I suppose the

        Doing it at the same time is always logistically very difficult for them so one reason or the other, depending on the upgrade

        means the reasoning is they cannot get them out at the same time, so either Ferrari goes first, or a customer? Still, as the rules seem to be, I could see FIA saying ‘so wait until you have enough to supply’, but I think then customers will just go ‘oh, no we do not yet want that new spec, the old one works perfectly for us still’ so nothing would come of it.

  4. I wonder when if anyone can reach Mercedes, is it even possible? There’s that mysterious deployment ferrari does apart from that it’s still merc ahead and we don’t know how is the PU package, how compact and light it is, there was a lot of talk about it in 2014 but I haven’t seen much since

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