Ferrari’s 2023 F1 engine is ‘the bomb’, says Steiner

Haas team principal Gunther Steiner has hinted that engine partner Ferrari has made major progress with its 2023 Formula 1 power unit, which he has cheekily praised as ‘the bomb.’

Ferrari’s 2022 engine was a good step forward this year, with outgoing boss Mattia Binotto claiming that the Maranello squad had made the biggest progress season to season that he had ever known.

"On the power unit, we set big numbers in terms of objectives,” he said over the summer.

“And what I've seen that we have been capable of developing during last season for 2022 on the power unit, in more than 25 years in Maranello, I never saw that.”

However, as the Italian manufacturer pushed hard on performance with F1’s engine freeze locking in development, it did suffer some reliability problems.

Binotto subsequently revealed at the end of the year that the team had had to wind down its power over the second half of the campaign to ensure it did not hit repeat trouble.

But, as revealed by Autosport, Ferrari was able to go more aggressive for the season finale in Abu Dhabi after getting to the bottom of its earlier issues.

That has set the squad up for maximum performance from its engine in 2023, which could boost the title hopes of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz as well as the form of its customer teams.

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Steiner, appearing at the Lorenzo Bandini Trophy Awards ceremony in Faenza at the weekend where driver Kevin Magnussen collected the accolade, has offered clues about optimism from within Ferrari.

“On Thursday I met Mattia Binotto and he told me that next season's engine will be the bomb,” he said.

“In Emilia Romagna, there is a lot of support for Ferrari. And if it [the engine] is competitive, it will be positive for us too.”

Steiner added he was encouraged by the progress that Haas made in 2022, which included a shock pole position for Kevin Magnussen at the Brazilian Grand Prix, but said the team’s targets had not been met yet.

"We've had two difficult years with the pandemic,” he said. “The championship that just ended went well, but it could also have gone better.

“We consider it a year of growth: Magnussen gave us a pole position that wasn't in the plans and in 2023 we want to grow further. The goal is to make another step forward in the standings, to always fight for points and one day get on the podium".

Speaking just down the road from rival AlphaTauri, which Haas edged in the constructors’ championship this year, Steiner said that the efforts of parts supplier Dallara, and input from technical director Simone Resta, left him confident about prospects for 2023.

“You'll see next year we will have a single-seater that will represent a step forward,” he said. “We hope to beat AlphaTauri again.”