Engine penalties to feature big part in 2022 F1 season finale
Aug.23 - Engine penalties look set to play a major part in the decisive second half of the world championship battle between Red Bull and Ferrari.
Ferrari had high profile engine reliability problems early in 2022 and could start taking penalties as soon as a new specification is introduced in the coming weeks.
According to former F1 driver Christijan Albers, Red Bull is in a better position when it comes to choosing when to potentially take engine penalties.
"Red Bull has the opportunity to look at it for a while," he told De Telegraaf.
"If Ferrari has to change the engine at Monza, I think Mattia Binotto will have a serious problem and have to grab his running shoes," the former Minardi driver joked.
Albers thinks it makes more sense for Ferrari to take an engine penalty this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.
"Red Bull can also do that and then they both start at the back, but strategically they still have the opportunity to do it in Monza. They have less to lose there and it's also a bit easier to overtake there than at Spa," said the Dutchman.
However, Albers warns Red Bull not to get too excited about Max Verstappen's sizeable 80 point lead heading into the decisive second phase of the championship.
"80 points is a lot, but if you think about it and he's driven off the track twice or unlucky, that gap can go away very quickly," he said.
"Charles Leclerc is a quality driver but you can still see the difference in calibre. He is still making mistakes and Ferrari's strategies have been disastrous.
"They just really don't have it under control," Albers concluded.
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When power unit number limits are set they should be achievable. Clearly they are not. Never have been. Then it all gets spoilt by penalties.
3 ice units? Ridiculous! It should be 5 minimum and i think there still would be penalties with that number.
80 points isnt a lot, hes right , its MASSIVE, RB have also lost zero engines this yr from blow ups so have more to play with that Ferrari, thats the short and Curly (aka Mr Curly) of it Mr Albers....
Looks like Ferrari are screwed then but not in the funny way
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