Ferrari Power Unit Hardware & Software

[Swobber]

Replace spark plugs and fire it back up is my best guess!

[Jolle]

In terms of moving forward to the next races, what does Ferrari do with the engine? Could Vettel's brand new engine have to be scraped? (excuse my lack of motor knowledge) and could this be a one off or is this an inherent problem in the new spec? I'm guessing they'll have to take another engine penalty hit and use a new, non-maximised, spec 3 engine.

A lot of speculation. We don’t know if he needed the new PU in the first place or that they just took the opportunity because he already had to start from the back (we will see this with every front runner from now on, if they won’t make it to Q2, they’ll fit a new PU) and we don’t know if he used the new PU and weather it was damaged.

[CriXus]

[media]https://twitter.com/SmilexTech/status/9 ... 0584508416[/media]
Vettel started "on 5 cylinders" and with deficit of 140 HP.

[Just_a_fan]

Wild speculation is wild speculation.

Please show me where the Ferrari is slower and has less power than the Mercedes now vs the start of the season...
Far too much fantasy surrounding the oil and Ferrari.

As opposed to fantasy surrounding oil and Mercedes?

Both teams use oil burning, everyone should move on from it.

[wuzak]

In terms of moving forward to the next races, what does Ferrari do with the engine? Could Vettel's brand new engine have to be scraped? (excuse my lack of motor knowledge) and could this be a one off or is this an inherent problem in the new spec? I'm guessing they'll have to take another engine penalty hit and use a new, non-maximised, spec 3 engine.

A lot of speculation. We don’t know if he needed the new PU in the first place or that they just took the opportunity because he already had to start from the back (we will see this with every front runner from now on, if they won’t make it to Q2, they’ll fit a new PU) and we don’t know if he used the new PU and weather it was damaged.

I doubt there is any reason to replace the engine.

PU 3 had an unrelated issue, which would have taken too much time to fix before qualifying.
PU 4 had a failure of a part external to the PU, which can be changed without penalty.

But since Vettel failed to qualify, getting PU 5 in was an easy choice.

PU 5 finished Malaysia without issue. I presume it was the one used in Japan. Spark plugs are free to change, so Ferrari more than likely changed all of them before the weekend and again, probably, before qualifying.

Raikkonen's PU 3 had the same issue as Vettel's PU 4 in Malaysia, so it is clear that particular issue was not related to the PU spec.

[sosic2121]

https://twitter.com/SmilexTech/status/9 ... 0584508416
Vettel started "on 5 cylinders" and with deficit of 140 HP.

It's a shame he retired, it would be interesting to see if Honda was faster than v5 Ferrari

[AJI]

Vettel started "on 5 cylinders" and with deficit of 140 HP.

What is the general opinion on this? I call baloney.
Also interesting is that there is an implication that the Ferrari engine is now 1000Hp (with the K). A conveniently round number.

[wuzak]

Vettel started "on 5 cylinders" and with deficit of 140 HP.

What is the general opinion on this? I call baloney.
Also interesting is that there is an implication that the Ferrari engine is now 1000Hp (with the K). A conveniently round number.

If you watch the start he gets a great getaway, but by the exit of the first corner he has lost a lot of ground to Hamilton.

And then there is the three cars passing him at the start of the second lap.

[MrPotatoHead]

Vettel started "on 5 cylinders" and with deficit of 140 HP.

What is the general opinion on this? I call baloney.
Also interesting is that there is an implication that the Ferrari engine is now 1000Hp (with the K). A conveniently round number.

If you translate and read the article quoted it says "about 140hp"
It's just speculation from the author not data from Ferrari.

[AJI]

If you translate and read the article quoted it says "about 140hp"

So it does. I just read the headline...

[AJI]

If you watch the start he gets a great getaway, but by the exit of the first corner he has lost a lot of ground to Hamilton.

And then there is the three cars passing him at the start of the second lap.

Certainly the problem was dire in a short amount of time, but the car must have been running on 6 cylinders for the start? As you said, he had a great getaway.

[drunkf1fan]

https://twitter.com/SmilexTech/status/9 ... 0584508416
Vettel started "on 5 cylinders" and with deficit of 140 HP.

It's a shame he retired, it would be interesting to see if Honda was faster than v5 Ferrari

From what I recall he was, they showed an early in race max speed reached and Vettel was iirc 288kph and was dead last on the speed chart with everyone else a fair amount higher, I think maybe there was one more car at like 298kph then the rest over 300.

Vettel started "on 5 cylinders" and with deficit of 140 HP.

What is the general opinion on this? I call baloney.
Also interesting is that there is an implication that the Ferrari engine is now 1000Hp (with the K). A conveniently round number.

If you watch the start he gets a great getaway, but by the exit of the first corner he has lost a lot of ground to Hamilton.

And then there is the three cars passing him at the start of the second lap.

I mean it was identical to Hamilton in Australia, the start didn't look too bad because they are obviously grip limited, not engine limited from a dead stop but once up to speed then the first time they accelerated at full power Hamilton dropped back and was swamped down the first straight. Same as Vettel, looked okay, then a bit slow then on the first real straight they passed him like a 2015 Mclaren.

I doubt he had all 6 cylinders at the start, I think it was simply that they can't use anywhere near full power at the start without wheel spin so the difference is lessened, but he was dropping back by the time they got into second gear.

[iulian_florea]

On the begining of lap 2, after Botas overtook Vettel, the German initially had a better exit from second corner.
Maybe the plug failed only at high revs.
If he indeed had only 5 cylinders at the start, he would lose more than 140 HP due to compression/friction.

[dren]

https://twitter.com/SmilexTech/status/9 ... 0584508416
Vettel started "on 5 cylinders" and with deficit of 140 HP.

So it's safe to say the Honda isn't 100hp down on the top PUs then, based on his opening lap.

[etusch]

Could Ferrari get limit of current architecture?
From pitpass

[In the wake of the technical failures that have effectively killed off Sebastian Vettel's and Ferrari's 2017 title hopes, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff suggests the team may be paying the price for its massive step forward this year.

Indeed, having looked strong in pre-season testing, though never entirely showing its hand, Ferrari took victory in the season opener in Melbourne and again in Bahrain a few weeks later. And while Mercedes remains the class of the field, there is no doubt that as recently as Singapore the Italian team has given its German rivals a run for their money.