Ferrari’s 2022 engine has been a good step forward this year, with outgoing boss Mattia Binotto saying the Maranello team has made the biggest season-on-season progress it has ever seen.
“On the power unit, we set big numbers in terms of targets,” he said over the summer.
“And what I saw that we were able to develop last season for 2022 on the engine block, in over 25 years at Maranello, I’ve never seen that.”
However, as the Italian manufacturer pushed hard on performance with F1’s engine freeze stall in development, it suffered from a few reliability issues.
Binotto then revealed at the end of the year that the team had to reduce their power in the second half of the campaign to ensure they didn’t run into repeated problems.
But, as revealed by Autosport, Ferrari was able to be more aggressive for the season finale in Abu Dhabi after addressing its previous issues.
This has prepared the team for peak engine performance in 2023, which could boost the title hopes of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz as well as the form of its client teams.
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Steiner, appearing at the Lorenzo Bandini Trophy ceremony in Faenza this weekend where driver Kevin Magnussen received the accolade, offered clues to Ferrari’s optimism.
“On Thursday I met Mattia Binotto and he told me next season’s engine will be the bomb,” he said.
“In Emilia-Romagna there is a lot of support for Ferrari. And if he [the engine] is competitive, it will be positive for us too.
Steiner added he was encouraged by the progress Haas has made in 2022, which included a shock pole position for Kevin Magnussen at the Brazilian Grand Prix, but said the team’s goals have yet to be met. .
“We’ve had two tough years with the pandemic,” he said. “The championship that just ended went well, but it could also have gone better.
“We see this as a year of growth: Magnussen gave us pole position which was not expected and in 2023 we want to continue to grow. The goal is to take another step forward in the standings, to always fight for points and one day get on the podium.”
Speaking just ahead of rival AlphaTauri, whom Haas edged out in the constructors’ championship this year, Steiner said the efforts of parts supplier Dallara and the contribution of technical director Simone Resta left him confident about the prospects for 2023.
“You will see next year we will have a single-seater which will represent a step forward,” he said. “We hope to beat AlphaTauri again.”