Ferrari lodges protest
Ferrari formally protested a new Mercedes aerodynamic 'trick' spotted at the Australia GP, arguing it gives an unfair straight‑line advantage — the spat has opened a season‑long technical war. (youtube.com) Ferrari is also believed to be prepping a revised hybrid power unit that could net ~12–15hp through better energy recovery — leaks and analyst panels are already dissecting the gains. (youtube.com)
Ferrari has publicly said it will not file a formal protest at the Australian Grand Prix and that team principal Fred Vasseur has pushed for regulatory clarity ahead of the March 1 power‑unit homologation deadline. (planetf1.com racingnews365.com ) Multiple outlets report Ferrari escalated the matter to the FIA after onboard footage from the Chinese GP showed the Mercedes W17’s front‑wing behaving in an unexpected way, prompting rival teams to request clarification. (sportskeeda.com total-motorsport.com ) Technical analysts have described the observed W17 behaviour as a “two‑phase” or bi‑phase front‑wing closure that appears to complete an initial movement within the FIA’s 400‑millisecond transition limit and then finish the motion more slowly, which would smooth the aero transition under braking. (racingnewstoday.com the-race.com ) The FIA examined the data and, according to published reports, accepted Mercedes’ technical explanation that the irregular closure stemmed from a hydraulic‑pressure miscalculation rather than an intended exploit, and Mercedes implemented front‑wing changes after talks with the governing body. (the-race.com racingnewstoday.com ) On the engine side, Ferrari ran an updated power unit package during February’s Bahrain running and Italian outlets report bench testing of its hybrid recovery systems has produced “encouraging” numbers for energy harvesting. (motorsport.com f1i.com ) Social‑media leaks and analyst YouTube breakdowns circulating after the tests have claimed roughly a 12–15 hp uplift from improved ERS harvesting on Ferrari’s revised unit, but mainstream technical outlets to date report only general encouraging ERS outputs and have not independently verified the 12–15 hp figure. (youtube.com f1i.com )
