Trouble for Charles Leclerc as he will be forced to serve a grid penalty for Jeddah
Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc will be forced to serve a grid penalty for the Saudi Arabian GP.
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari hotshot, Charles Leclerc has not had the best start to the season with his heartbreaking retirement at the season opening Bahrain GP. The team itself had a huge hype behind it when it came to car launches ahead of the 2023 season. Sadly, it didn’t last long as Red Bull and Aston Martin swooped the headlines in the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix itself.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen showcased a dominant performance as he went on to finish P1 while his teammate Sergio Perez came home in P2. Meanwhile Fernando Alonso completed the podium as he scored a podium for Aston Martin. Ferrari and Mercedes were nowhere to be seen. Charles Leclerc had a devastating end to his race weekend as he went on to retire his car after stopping during the 39th lap of the race.
Some of the electric components in the power unit of Charles Leclerc’s car had been changed out of concern. This was before the Bahrain GP. It seems like those same components were destroyed which led to the retirement of the Ferrari driver. This was a big concern for all the folks at Maranello as the previous components that were originally replaced possibly have been deemed as unusable. This means a huge problem lies ahead.
Discover: Sky Sports F1 host reveals Lewis Hamilton confessed she made him “nervous”
Charles Leclerc will receive a 10 place grid penalty as he installs new electronic components in the PU
Charles Leclerc has already covered the quota of the specific electric components used in the power unit. This means that adding new components will lead to a grid penalty for the Ferrari driver. A 10 place grid penalty would be handed out to Leclerc for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in this case. It seems like there is nothing that can be done in order to prevent this from happening.
“Unfortunately, it was twice the electronic control unit and it is something we have never experienced in the past,” Ferrari’s director went on to state. “We did an in-depth analysis of this. But, unfortunately, we will have to assume the penalty in Jeddah because we only have one reservation of two electronic control switchboards for the season,” Fred Vasseur also shared his thoughts on the same.
It is definitely a frustrating start to the season for Charles Leclerc. Having retired from the season opening race, the Monegasque driver is already having to face a grid penalty due to his Ferrari’s unreliability. With Red Bull and Aston Martin poised to run away as the top 2 teams, trouble has risen for Ferrari yet again. It will be interesting to see how Leclerc and the team handle the situation ahead of the race weekend.
In case you missed it:
Varad Joshi
(940 Articles Published)