Haas, Sauber get Ferrari PU boost worth up to 40hp in Hungary

Haas and Sauber will both receive the next specification of Ferrari power unit at the Hungarian Grand Prix, bringing with it a significant performance boost.

The two customer teams will each have the third specification of internal combustion engine this weekend, following the introduction of the second specification in Monaco. Once again, the works Ferrari team will not use the upgrade this weekend, with the team waiting for the upcoming power-sensitive races at Spa-Francorchamps and Monza.

RACER understands the new power unit will provide a gain of up to 40hp compared to the previous specification.

The update continues Ferrari’s impressive power unit development this season, which has seen the Italian manufacturer overhaul Mercedes as the benchmark from an engine point of view. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff estimated Ferrari was gaining half a second in lap time on the straights in Hockenheim compared to the defending champions.

Although he wouldn’t confirm the size of the improvement expected from the new power unit, Haas team principal Guenther Steiner told RACER that the timing of the introduction is related to understanding any issues on a track where the lap time gain is less than on most circuits.

“We have a new engine here, engine number three,” Steiner said. “I don’t know [the gain] exactly, I don’t get the numbers. But I hope it’s a good step again.

“Ferrari give you the opportunity, if you don’t want it you can say no.

“Because our cooling system is different, it gives you a chance to see if you need to do something. If you run here on a Friday and you have got issues with it you can revert to the number two engine for the race and get prepared for the next race.

“We’re a smaller team. Ferrari are very quick [at responding] - they’ve got the four-wheel dyno. We still need to be a little bit careful with it that it all works.”