The abandonment due to engine failure that Charles Leclerc suffered in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix leaves him without one less unit. The Ferrari Monegasque is already at the limit of permitted components, so the sanction will be inevitable.
Ferrari and Charles Leclerc They already have two things clear after the investigation regarding the condition of the engine that broke down in the last Azerbaijan Grand Prix: that said unit is irreparable and that the Monegasque will have to accept a penalty for exceeding the limit of engine components.
This has been confirmed by the Italian team itself in a brief statement, in which it states that “an investigation confirmed that Charles’ (Leclerc) Baku PU (power unit) is not repairable. A possible cause of the failure is that it occurred as a consequence of the PU problem in Spain. We are now working on corrective measures to strengthen the whole and the situation is under control.”
Therefore, the unit recovered from the Spanish Grand Prix, in which Charles Leclerc added the first of the two retirements he has suffered this season, has been the cause of the second in Baku.
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In which race will Leclerc penalize?
Now the only thing that remains to be determined is the moment in which Charles Leclerc will receive the penalty. And it is that Ferrari may choose to rebuild an engine reusing elements previously released in previous races to delay the sanction until the moment in which it considers it more convenient.
“Obviously, we are not in the best possible situation. For the change of the power unit, I think there are still ongoing discussions. It’s up to us to choose the best track where you want to receive a penalty.”confirmed Charles Leclerc before the media displaced to Montreal.
“Canada is one of the tracks where it is quite easy to overtake, but there are also circuits in the next three or four races where it’s also quite easy. We will discuss and try to make the best decision from there, “reiterates the Ferrari driver.
An ideal moment for the change would be the Austrian Grand Prix, which will host the second event of the season with sprint format. That would give Leclerc a double chance to climb positions: in the sprint race on Saturday and in the traditional one on Sunday.
In that case, Ferrari would have to be able to complete the Canadian and British Grands Prix with the elements used in the previous races.
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Scuderia Ferrari
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Photos: Scuderia Ferrari