No ADUO-2 engine for Charles Leclerc
Ferrari has decided not to use the evolved engine called “ADUO-2” on the SF-26 of Charles Leclerc during the Spanish GP weekend in Madrid. The Monegasque driver therefore went out on track in the first free practice sessions with a specification used before the debut of the new power unit in Monza and finished the session in third place, ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton but behind the two Mercedes of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli. But why did the Maranello team choose not to use, barring surprises during the rest of the weekend, the more developed and powerful engine in a weekend where they expected (and still expect) to be significantly more competitive than at the home GP?
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Charles Leclerc’s power unit suffered an unexpected thermal stress after the impact on the second lap of the Italian GP at the Parabolica corner: it remained on for some time after the impact, despite the driver’s attempts to turn it off, and the engine revs even increased at one point, subjecting the unit to a rise in temperatures. Nevertheless, after the usual checks at the factory, the Prancing Horse had declared that the Monegasque’s engine was “safe” and could be reused in a race weekend: good news, since in case of a further unit replacement, Leclerc would have to serve a grid penalty. So why, in Madrid, will Charles not have the “aduated” engine, unlike teammate Hamilton?
Ferrari’s decision
The answer lies in Ferrari’s precautionary choice not to risk a failure that would have complicated the weekend’s plans and made Leclerc’s approach to qualifying and the race much more difficult. The engine is indeed okay, at least according to the parameters from the internal sensors, but it is obvious that certainty that there are no hidden damages can only come from track comparison. And this is where Madrid comes into play, which is not only a new circuit for everyone, where it is necessary to run as much as possible to gain experience, but also a street track where the walls are very close to the road and therefore, as in Monte Carlo, drivers want to make the most of the sessions to get familiar with the track limits.
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Moreover, it is still a circuit where the Prancing Horse engineers assessed the contribution of the engine with a few extra horsepower as not so impactful: Madrid is a chassis, suspension, and aerodynamics track, so it was also considered that the benefit from using the ADUO-2 power unit was not worth the risk of a failure in free practice. According to information gathered in the Spanish GP paddock, the engine from the Monza crash will return to Leclerc’s car in FP1 of the Azerbaijan GP in Baku, where a possible failure would be less problematic, since teams and drivers know the circuit better and since the layout with the very long final straight makes the extra horsepower much more decisive for achieving a good result.
