Power unit chief reveals how Maranello team will extract more power from SF-25 engine
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The development freeze imposed in 2022 has prevented Ferrari from updating the power unit, but the Maranello staff has still worked to ensure the SF-25 gains every possible advantage. Enrico Gualtieri, head of the engine department, confirms the presence of reliability modifications, likely also involving the battery, one of the most fragile components in 2024. However, the very absence of major changes allows Ferrari to thoroughly understand its components, learning how to exploit them better and extract even more power through a different rotation of the units throughout the season.
Optimized rotation
“Being in the final year of the current power unit regulations, which are frozen, we haven't changed much of our engine,” explains Enrico Gualtieri. “There are some small reliability adjustments, but they will debut right at the start of the season, and if everything goes according to plan, we don't expect to introduce further modifications during the year.” The continuity of the components ensures stability for Ferrari, which, with fewer variables, can leverage the data gathered on individual parts to plan their usage more effectively.
The Italian engineer continues: “This allows us to rely on components of the same specification from the first to the last power unit, whereas in previous seasons, almost every time we installed a fresh engine, there were small reliability-related changes. Now, in the rotation of power unit components throughout the year, we will have the opportunity to extract the maximum potential based on the predetermined lifespan of each engine rather than just focusing on a single race weekend.”
A classic example of engine rotation during the season is using older, less powerful power units in practice sessions and/or on street circuits like Monte Carlo. Conversely, races at high altitudes, such as Austria and Mexico, require a fresh turbocharger to operate at higher speeds and compress the thinner air more effectively. Ferrari’s extensive experience with the current power unit now allows for an even more refined component rotation strategy to extract greater power. “In management, we can pay more attention to squeezing out every last drop of performance,” Enrico Gualtieri explains. “We will select which power units and even which individual parts to use based on their previous lifespan, the virtual models of the components we have built, and their actual usage to always choose the most suitable units for each weekend.”
Every detail counts
The different rotation strategy throughout the year is made possible by a power unit that has remained practically unchanged since 2024. Enrico Gualtieri continues: “With regulations frozen since 2022, we cannot physically modify parts or install new components. This doesn't mean we can't optimize what we already have. We have tried to adapt our way of managing the power unit under the various conditions we might encounter during race weekends to maximize its nominal power. Of course, it's nothing comparable to what we were used to when development was still open. However, it is something we can focus on to extract every last fraction of performance that we may have missed in recent seasons.”
Technical director Loic Serra explained that the goal of the 2025 project was to free up space for the aerodynamics department. However, this work did not involve the auxiliary components of the power unit, whose architecture, according to Enrico Gualtieri, was already optimal: “We haven't really changed the installation of the power unit in the car. Already in 2022, we had arranged all the components in the least intrusive architecture, giving the aerodynamics department complete freedom to shape the bodywork around the minimal footprint of the engine and auxiliary components. […] We haven't changed the hardware, but we are always looking to manage the different cooling needs that may arise from aerodynamicists' requirements or future setup choices.”
A meticulous effort by Ferrari's engine department, but in such a finely balanced Formula 1, even the smallest fraction of a second makes a difference.
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