Haas F1 team’s Nico Hulkenberg posted a fantastic seventh place finish at last weekend’s F1 Australian Grand Prix, but the result was of great concern. Hulkenberg’s VF-23 lost his power the moment he crossed the line. In the past few days, the Haas F1 team has done its best to assess why the VF-23 has lost power, but the conclusion is not good news for Ferrari-powered cars.
The Haas F1 team has revealed that Nico Hulkenberg’s car has an MGU-K failure. This is the same issue that affected the Haas F1 team for four races last season. Moreover, problems with Ferrari’s power unit are nothing new, and the works team also experienced trouble with Charles Leclerc’s engine in Bahrain. Fans posted memes on social media after the third race saw another major problem. Ferrari and its customer teams appear to be producing cars with decent pace this season, but it’s the reliability issues that often underperform their rivals. Ferrari’s works team is a prime example. Charles Leclerc qualified 3rd in the opening round of the Bahrain GP, but ended up retiring due to a problem with the power unit. The engine failure also cost Leclerc a 10-place grid penalty for the upcoming Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. F1 teams are limited in the number of power units they can use and how many they can supply, so Ferrari-powered cars are likely to be in big trouble all season. Ferrari, Haas and Alfa Romeo will have to pay attention to this point, as they will receive a large penalty for each additional power unit.