New engines for Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon at Imola

Remember, two weeks ago, Carlos Sainz was experiencing an extremely difficult Australian Grand Prix. After misfortune on his first stint in qualifying and a delay in starting his engine on the second run, the Spaniard was then forced to retire in the first laps during the Sunday race.

The cause was a bad start which caused him to slip to 14th position on the first lap. While he was trying to catch up, the Madrilenian attacked Kevin Magnussen a little too hard before turn 9 while the tires were obviously not quite at the right temperature yet. 

As a result, the Iberian crossed the width of the track before parking in the gravel trap after turn 10, without being able to get out. This Friday, before the first free practice session, the Team Ferrari clarified that Carlos Sainz's power unit was changed as a precaution following the impact in Australia, the Italian team not wishing to take any risks with the weekend marked by the sprint race.

Note that this will be the second power unit delivered to driver no. 55, out of the three allocated before penalty. French Esteban Ocon et Alpine will also use a new engine, again as a precaution, the French brand said. As for Sainz, the Norman will already use his second engine of the season, out of the three allocated. Neither will therefore receive a penalty at Imola.

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Carlos' engine has been changed as a precaution following the impact in Australia as we do not want to take any risks with the Sprint weekend format.#esseFerrari #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/kHxpochNPH

- Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 22, 2022

As a precaution, the team will fit a new power unit for Esteban at this weekend's Grand Prix. This will be his second of three allocated power units for the season, therefore not incurring a penalty.#ImolaGP

—BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) April 22, 2022