“Certified Ferrari moment,” Fans react as Charles Leclerc handed 10-place grid penalty for Saudi Arabian GP

The start to Charles Leclerc’s 2023 certainly hasn’t been ideal. First, before even starting his first flying lap of qualifying, a wheel-arch flew off his car. Then going into the first corner, he locked up. Eventually, he finished P3 in qualifying. In the race, he challenged Sergio Perez for some time with his fresh tires but was eventually beaten. Then came the coup de grâce – he suddenly found that his SF-23 had no power. On lap 41, he retired from the race.

The reason for it was rather unclear. The control electronics, the ERS battery pack, and the internal combustion engine were all touted as causing the failure. What was clear was that Ferrari never expected it – and the issue never showed up on the dyno before. There was a lot of concern that, if the failure concerned the control electronics or the ERS battery pack, then Leclerc would have to take a penalty.

That is because the parts had been changed the morning of the race, and drivers are only allocated two parts for the entire season. The fears have now been realized: Leclerc will take a 10-place grid penalty in Jeddah. As per Formula1.com, Frederic Vasseur told media: “On Sunday, we had two different issues. The first one was on the Sunday morning, when we did the fire up, and the second one was in the race. Unfortunately, it was two times the control unit, the ECU.”

The Frenchman added: “It’s something that we never experienced in the past. I hope now it’s under control, but we have a deep analysis on this. Unfortunately, we’ll have to take the penalty in Jeddah, because we have only a pool of two control units for the season.” This is especially bad, considering Jeddah is only the second race of the season. Fans are clearly not impressed.

Read More: Trouble for Charles Leclerc as he will be forced to serve a grid penalty for Jeddah

Fans react to Charles Leclerc’s 10-place grid penalty

The 10-place grid penalty is not a race-ender on its own, but the fact remains: Charles Leclerc will be on the back foot in Jeddah. That is quite a shame, as the circuit is expected to suit the SF-23’s characteristics. It’s safe to say that him winning the race is rather unlikely. They don’t have a big advantage on performance on the rest of the grid. Max Verstappen and Red Bull were dominant in Bahrain, and while the gap should go down, Ferrari won’t necessarily be the ‘top dog’ in Jeddah.

So, understandably, Ferrari fans have been left feeling rather wistful – and also angry. While it’s early days, such setbacks aren’t going to be good for Leclerc’s hopes of winning the title. And as always, the anger is directed towards Ferrari. But there’s also a lot of resigned acceptance.

Ferrari and Leclerc will have to dig themselves out of a hole in Jeddah, and then perform much better the rest of the season in order to have a chance at the title. Carlos Sainz will have the brunt of the responsibility on his shoulders in Jeddah – it’s his chance to deliver, and show the team and the fans that he’s not ‘second driver’ material.

In case you missed it:

• “Restless” Charles Leclerc seeks out a meeting with Ferrari President – Report
• Frederic Vasseur: Ferrari never expected Charles Leclerc’s race-ending issue at the Bahrain GP

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