Ferrari has confirmed it has changed the gearbox on Carlos Sainz’s car ahead of the 2022 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix after his accident in qualifying on Saturday.
The Spanish driver could not avoid the collision with Sergio Pérez’s car on his last lap of Q3 before entering the tunnel, after the Mexican driver spun in that area and went against the wall, staying diagonally in the middle of the layout and hindering the passage of the following cars.
Sainz came into the corner totally blind, not seeing Pérez , which caused him to end up colliding with the Red Bull and suffering some unavoidable damage to his Ferrari F1-75.
Ahead of Sunday’s race in Monaco, Ferrari confirmed they had made the decision to change the gearbox on Sainz’s car as a precautionary measure after assessing possible damage sustained in the crash.
“After examining Carlos’ car following yesterday’s incident and given the force of the impact, we have decided to change the gearbox as a precautionary measure,” the team said.
“Naturally, the parts at the rear that were damaged have also been changed. These modifications do not carry any penalties.”
Ferrari ‘s move has been made with Charles Leclerc unable to even make the grid for last year’s Monaco Grand Prix due to damage sustained in an accident in Q3 in 2021.
The Maranello team discovered a rear left driveshaft failure on Leclerc ‘s car when the driver was on his lap on the way to the grid, preventing the Monegasque from taking advantage of pole position in his home race, something that this year yes you can do.
Unlike previous seasons, where teams were required to use a minimum number of races per gearbox, in 2022 each team has a total of four sets and also four separate components that they can use as they please.
This means that Sainz will start second on the grid this Sunday, behind Leclerc , who will lead the front row for Ferrari .
“I just stepped on the brake, tried to turn the corner as much as possible and just when I was going to avoid it, I hit the brake a little harder and hit it with the rear of the car,” explained the man from Madrid about his accident with the Mexican.
“It would have been a pretty big relief to avoid, but there was basically no time to do it, it’s what happens in Monaco,” he concluded.
