Haas and Sauber to take upgraded Ferrari engines in Barcelona

Ferrari introduced its new power unit, which utilised three development tokens for better combustion, at the Russian Grand Prix.

And although F1’s rules stipulate that any manufacturer upgrades must be made available to customers, neither Haas nor Sauber made use of the new power unit in Sochi.

However, both outfits intend to move on to their second engines of the season at Barcelona – where the power improvements are expected to show better than Russia.

Haas familiarity

The new engine could be particularly important for Haas, which is locked in a tight battle for fifth place in the constructors’ championship after getting back into the points in Russia.

It also used a new front wing in Sochi and plans to introduce a new rear wing at Barcelona.

Team principal Gunther Steiner also thinks his outfit will be helped by returning to a track it has already tested on.

“For us it is quite a good thing,” he said. “We can go to Spain and look at the data we had from the test and compare it to see if we have gone wrong somewhere, or if we are still in the ballpark because the car felt good there.

“It is the first track we have been on where we have got data so it is nice to be able to compare what we had before there.”

Vettel all clear

After his blow-up before the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix, the use of the upgraded engine in Russia means Sebastian Vettel is already on his third power unit of the year.

There had been some concern that there could have been some damage to the engine caused by his collision with Daniil Kvyat at Sochi, but Ferrari has confirmed that the unit has been given the all clear.

However, Vettel will be fitted with a new gearbox for Barcelona – which is allowed without penalty because he did not finish the race in Russia.