Ferrari have confirmed that Charles Leclerc will suffer a grid penalty of at least 10 places for this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, after his withdrawal from the Bahrain GP forced the team to fit a new electronic component to the grid. power unit. Ferrari had replaced the energy storage and control electronics in Leclerc’s car before the season-opening race, and teams are only allowed to use two control electronics per season without penalty.
“We found the cause of the problem that Charles stopped at Sakhir and will use the third CU on his car, which means we will get a grid penalty,” said team principal Fred Vasseur, who was optimistic that the setback will not compromise the career of Monegasque drivers too much.
“The Saudi Arabian track is very different from Bahrain in terms of track layout and surface, and top speed is particularly important,” he noted. “I’m sure we can have a better weekend here.”
However, there is a chance Leclerc’s grid drop could increase if the team find it necessary to change his car’s energy storage component.