New engine again for Leclerc while Verstappen eyes F1 record
Oct.20 - Charles Leclerc will start Sunday's US GP five places lower than he qualifies, as new double world champion Max Verstappen stands on the cusp of an all-time F1 record.
La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that with the world championships now lost, it is "time for experimentation" for Ferrari in the final races of 2022.
Correspondent Paolo Filisetti reports that Leclerc will have a fresh internal combustion engine fitted to his car in Austin, resulting in a five-spot grid penalty.
"Ferrari's move is not dictated by reliability problems, but by the desire to experiment for next season," he wrote in the Italian sports newspaper.
Filisetti insists that because the 2022 power units are 'frozen' by regulation, modifications are only actually possible if justified by reliability.
However, Ferrari is "understandably looking for improvements to exploit for 2023".
As for Red Bull's 2021 and 2022 drivers' champion Verstappen, victory in Austin would equal Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel's joint all-time record for the number of wins in a season - 13.
Dr Helmut Marko insists that the Dutch driver is not motivated by records, declaring last week: "He's not the type to go for records.
"I think one day he will say 'fine' and walk away."
According to Dutch F1 GP boss Jan Lammers, however, "Max will want to win the last four races" of his dominant 2022 season.
Fellow former Dutch F1 driver Christijan Albers agrees, telling De Telegraaf: "Max can break many records, like the most wins in one season.
"If there's a year in which he can do that, it's now."
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Whats the however? According to Dutch F1 GP boss Jan Lammers, however, "Max will want to win the last four races" of his dominant 2022 season.
Complete B**locks, what will a new engine tell them, that they don't know already, experimentation of what?
Unsurprising if this indeed happens.
Ferrari smacks of desperation by trying to save face at any cost
Hope the FIA keep an eye 👁 on Ferrari's shenanigans
What a waste 🗑 of $1.9 million
Or are they still developing their 2023 engine? In 2022 Who knows
This is the real cheating in F1. Manufacturers are tasked with bringing an engine capable of lasting eight races. Five allows for two engine failures, damage in crashes, etc. Beyond that, it seems more of a deliberate decision to violate the rules rather than reducing the engine modes down to level that would last the required eight races. Maybe if the FIA stated number 4 is 5 places, #5 is 10, #6 is back of the grid, and #7 is back of grid and 10 second stop-and-go penalty, the teams would obey the spirit of the rules.
The engines can last longer ask Honda, not Ferrari, but they lose performance over time, Rb aren't being accused of engine cheating, they've no need to
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