(ANSA) – MONTRÉAL, JUN 17 – Monegasque Charles Leclerc will start on Sunday with ten penalty places at the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal because Ferrari has decided to replace an additional element of his car beyond the allowed quota per season.
After the engine failure of the Azerbaijani GP last Sunday, Ferrari had to replace several parts of the engine of Charles Leclerc’s car, considered “irreparable”. On Friday, before the first session, a first battery of changes on the car was announced that were within the limits allowed during a season. But at the end of the day, as Leclerc had set the second fastest time in the second free practice session behind championship leader Max Verstappen (Red Bull), an FIA note announced a new gearbox for Ferrari, this time in regards to the engine control electronics. The third of this kind used by the Scuderia since the beginning of the season, against the two authorized for each season. For this infringement the regulation foresees ten penalty places. If another element were changed beyond the limits before Sunday, Leclerc could still get back on the grid.
“It is obvious that we are not in the best possible situation”, the rider observed yesterday about this penalty that hovered over his helmet. “It’s up to us to choose the best circuit” to take this penalty, he went on, explaining that Montreal was an option for overtaking possibilities.
Leclerc is 34 points behind Verstappen before the ninth GP out of 22 in the world championship, particularly the fault of two retirements due to mechanical problems in Spain and Baku. (HANDLE).
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