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Will Ferrari smaller turbo be Heaven or Hell for F1 Maranello drivers

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John S:
Can blinding starts make up for in race lethargy from smaller turbo on Ferraris this year? Guess we'll have to wait til Melbourne to find out. 

F1 engineers now ‘have concerns’ about Ferrari’s 2026 turbo causing a power deficit after testing

Ferrari have developed their new engine with a small turbo to combat the issues that some of their rival teams have faced avoiding turbo lag during their practice race starts, due to F1 removing the MGU-H (which was a vital tool in previous seasons) with the 2026 regulations.

But while Ferrari get off the line quickly and do not have to maintain high revs for as long as their rivals to avoid turbo lag, some F1 engineers now fear the Scuderia’s turbo might cause Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton issues at power-sensitive tracks like Albert Park and also Monza.

Slater said on Sky Sports News (20/02, 16:47): “McLaren are slightly ahead of Ferrari, based on the efficacy of that Mercedes power unit this season. And also because some engineers have told me they have concerns about the small turbo in the Ferrari power unit.

“Now, it’s very good for starts, we’ve seen that. They’ve made lightning starts. But could that be a deficit and a problem, particularly on power-sensitive tracks, places like Spa, and Monza, and Silverstone, and maybe even Albert Park, the first race of the season?”

Above paras from longer article courtesy Kyle Archer on F1oversteer.com, yesterday.

Jericoke:
I'm vaguely aware what a turbo does and how it works.

I presume the implication of a smaller turbo is that the car generates less power?  But if there is a cap to the compression ratio, surely that means there is a cap to how much air the turbo can force into the engine, right?  I can't image Ferrari would just put less air in than they're allowed?  In which case,the bigger turbos don't provide any advantage at all?  Maybe the durability of extra weight?  (although that feels very un-F1)

lkjohnson1950:
A turbo forces extra air into the cylinder. There is always lag because the the engine puts out less exhaust at low RPM, so the turbo spins more slowly. A smaller turbo will spin up more quickly on less exhaust and provide boost sooner. But a small turbo ultimately reaches it's maximum boost sooner. A large turbo has more lag because it requires more exhaust flow to spin it, it has more mass to move. So it takes longer to produce enough boost to develope power. But becaues it eventually moves more air, it provides more ultimate power. In fact Penske was running gigantic turbos on their IndyCars for a while. They provided so much boost they overpowered the pop off valve which is supposed to limit the boost. The valve couldn't bleed boost off as fast as the turbo could provide it and the engine made more power. On an oval the turbo is almost always spinning at top speed. So will Ferrari's smaller turbo provide enough boost for Ferrari to keep up on the straight? Will it provide enough low speed boost for Ferrari to gain a significant advantage at the start? Lewis was already saying the Mercs were a lot faster on the straight.  :DntKnw: :DntKnw:

Andy B:
I'm sure Ferrari will have considered this it'll be just whether they have got it right.

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