Gunther Steiner, the head of the Haas team, has cheekily referred to Ferrari’s 2023 Formula 1 power unit as “the rocket,” suggesting that Ferrari has made significant advancements with it.
Mattia Binotto has informed Haas team principal Guenther Steiner that the new Ferrari power unit for 2023 is “going like a rocket.”
Given that Haas is a Ferrari customer and that Binotto has tendered his resignation from the Scuderia and will depart the team at the end of the year, this would be fantastic news for the American team’s cars for the upcoming season.
Speaking at the Lorenzo Bandini Trophy ceremony in the Emilia Romagna area of Italy over the weekend, Haas driver Kevin Magnussen was this year’s recipient. Steiner has heard excellent things about next year’s power unit from the departing Ferrari team manager.
According to Mattia Binotto, who Steiner saw on Tuesday, “the engine for next season is moving like a rocket,” according to the Dutch version of Motorsport.com.
“Ferrari has a lot of support in Emilia Romagna. It will also benefit us if the engine is actually competitive. So a rocket will be the engine for the following year.
Haas labored through the year with their inexperienced line-up supporting the field in the slowest car on the grid because they decided not to develop their 2021 car in-season at all and already had a low baseline performance in compared to the rest of the field.
That choice was taken so the team would put all their resources into hitting the ground running for the mass regulation change of 2022, and it paid off with solid early-season performances in particular from the returning Magnussen.
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With the extra prize money that comes with finishing eighth instead of 10th in the Constructors’ Championship, Steiner hopes to use the platform for the team to have a better year again in 2023, and eventually make further steps up the field.
“We have had two difficult years with the pandemic,” he said. “The Championship that just ended went well, but it could have been better. We see it as a year of growth. Magnussen gave us a pole position that was not in our plans.
“In 2023, we want to grow further. The goal is to make another step up in the final standings, to fight for points every race and one day make the podium.”
