Ferrari set to introduce Monza engine upgrade

Ferrari will arrive at its home Grand Prix with more than a nostalgic paint scheme. The team is preparing to introduce a revised version of its power unit under Formula 1's Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities system.

Motorsport.com reports that the changes include a new combustion chamber, a revised turbocharger and an accompanying Shell fuel specification. The updated 067/7 unit has completed the required reliability mileage on the test bench and is expected to be used at Monza.

The ADUO system was introduced with the 2026 power-unit regulations to give manufacturers that fall significantly behind a route back into contention. The FIA confirmed after the first review periods that Audi, Ferrari and Honda were more than four percent behind the leading engine and were therefore entitled to two additional homologation opportunities in both 2026 and 2027.

Ferrari's upgrade is the first practical use of that allowance. The report estimates that it could be worth about 15 horsepower and reduce roughly half of the deficit to Mercedes, although such figures remain estimates until the engines are run in comparable conditions.

Monza is the obvious place to find out. A large part of the lap is spent at full throttle and any change in power, deployment or efficiency is exposed more clearly than at most circuits.

The engine will be combined with Ferrari's low-drag aerodynamic package, including a very small rear wing and changes around the exhaust area. The package has acquired the informal name Macarena inside the paddock, which at least gives the engineers something memorable to call a collection of parts designed to reduce drag.

Ferrari heads to Italy 87 points behind Mercedes in the Constructors' championship. An upgrade that works as intended would matter beyond the emotions of Monza, as the ADUO regulations are supposed to prevent an early power-unit advantage becoming permanent.