MADRID, 15 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) will be sanctioned with 10 positions on the grid of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that starts this Friday at the Jeddah urban circuit, for installing a new electronic control unit for the power unit, according to the Formula 1 this Wednesday.
The ‘Scuderia’ was forced to install this component after last season’s runner-up dropped out at the Bahrain Grand Prix premiere two weeks ago. This carries a penalty, as Ferrari already replaced the energy store and control electronics in Leclerc’s engine before the debut of the year at Sakhir.
“As teams are only allowed to use two ECUs per season without penalty, Leclerc’s switch to a third for the second race at Jeddah ensures he will have at least a 10-position drop on the grid this Sunday, and potentially more if they replace any other part,” Formula 1 reported on its website.
“On Sunday, we had two different problems. The first was on Sunday morning and the second was in the race. Unfortunately, it was the control unit twice,” Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur told the media in a statement. published by the competition. The Italian team hopes that this component “is under control” from now on, although it reiterated that they must do “a deep analysis of this.”
Without apparently solving the reliability problems that weighed down the ‘Prancing Horse’, Ferrari is still far from the favorites Red Bull, after Carlos Sainz’s fourth place at the premiere in Bahrain and with Leclerc already 25 points behind Max Verstappen. “We had a conversation with the employees, where we were all together on stage. It’s obvious that Charles is motivated, it’s only a 23 race,” Vasseur explained.
“He is trying to get the best for everyone. The sanction is not good news, but it is not the end of the season either. Let’s see what happens in Jeddah and what the result could be, even with the penalty, but don’t even imagine a second that can be demotivated”, he insisted.