The problems Charles Leclerc faced last Formula 1 season appear to have been resolved for next season. This reports Motorsport-Total.

The last few races of the 2022 season showed how important good engine performance is. Two factors played a role here: on the one hand, it was the tuning of the powerplant, especially the size of the turbocharger that was not ideal for the high-altitude races in Mexico and Brazil. In addition, after the last race, then Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto confirmed that the Maranello-based team had to scale back engine power in the closing stages of the year due to reliability issues.

Earlier in the season there were some dropouts, including Leclerc's failure to finish in Spain and Baku. In addition, it was also Carlos Sainz' s DNF in Austria. This forced the team to slow down a bit while a solution was sought. In a brief speech, the now departed Ferrari team boss Binotto said,"We had to cut back a bit on power. Yes, we had to do it." However, it has now emerged that Ferrari was able to drive more aggressively again in Abu Dhabi, as the team thought it had found the solution to previous reliability problems.

Spark plug the cause?

Motorsport-Total reports that insiders have revealed that the spark plug in the front chamber has been touted as the engine's weakest element. This was the latest development of the Turbulent Jet Ignition (TJI) combustion system that Mahle had supplied to Ferrari in 2016, allowing the team to close the performance gap with Mercedes. In the six years since, huge progress has been made in developing a system that has been improved for the latest generation of engines homologated until the end of the 2025 season. The TJI system includes the spark plug and injector. Both are housed in a well in the cylinder head and both elements work together to maximise performance.

Only two to three per cent of the fuel is injected into the pre-combustion chamber, with the rest distributed over the piston surface. The mixture in the "cap" is particularly rich, while the combustible substance in the chamber is poorer, with more air than fuel.

Dissolved

Ferrari pushed development to exploit the maximum pressure of the injection system, which reaches 500 bar, as allowed by regulations, with the aim of generating five discharges per engine cycle. However, the solution led to an increased internal temperature, which affected the spark plug and eventually led to a rupture. Engineers therefore had to make some adjustments to prevent the spark plug from being stressed beyond the limit, while an external supplier worked to provide new materials to ensure the part could meet the engine's requirements.

Ferrari's performance in Abu Dhabi suggests the spark plug problem appears to have been resolved, boosting Ferrari's hopes for 2023 as the team is well aware it cannot afford a repeat of reliability problems.