Ex-Formula 1 driver Mika Salo claims Ferrari will be back at full power in 2021 after serving a fuel punishment last year.
Last year, the Scuderia slumped to their worst championship result in 40 years thanks mostly to a dramatic drop in engine performance.
That drop came after the FIA conducted a technical investigation into their 2019 power unit amid suggestions Ferrari had found ways of exceeding the fuel flow regulations.
The conclusions from that investigation were made private after the governing body reached a settlement with Ferrari, much to the disgust of their rivals.
However, Salo, who now acts as a driver steward at selected races, may have offered a glimpse into why the Italian team, and their customers Haas and Alfa Romeo, struggled so much in 2020.
“They suffered from Ferrari’s cheat last year because they had Ferrari engines and were forced to use less fuel, so I think so Alfa Romeo may be in a good position if they can perform at their best in the race this season,” Salo is quoted by Spain’s SoyMotor as saying on Twitch.
“I don’t know if it’s a new engine but they’re allowed to use it to its full power. They were not allowed last year because of Ferrari.”
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Interestingly, those comments appeared somewhat backed up by Alfa boss Fred Vasseur, who expects solid gains from the Ferrari engine this season.
“The collaboration with Ferrari is, I think, going very well,” he said after their recent launch.
“We had a strong meeting, a long meeting over the winter to cover the points of last year when perhaps we didn’t do the perfect job.
“We are on a good path. I think on their side, they will recover probably a large part of the issue we had last year, and collaboration is getting better and better.
“We won’t be taking some of their car – perhaps one or two elements but not much more. But I think it’s not the key point of the collaboration. The key point of the collaboration is to be convinced we can learn from each other.
“In the scope of the regulations, we have to play with this and we have to do the best job we can do.”