The Canadian GP weekend has not started in the best way for Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque driver who, in principle, was going to change only some components of the engine, has received confirmation that Ferrari has decided to change its entire power unit.
The ten positions that I was going to lose with the previous changes, after mounting the third electronic control of the year, have become going to the bottom of the grid. This is due to having exceeded the maximum allowed number of other elements of the brand new engine.
The new components that Ferrari has decided to change, in order to try not to penalize in the next races, are the combustion engine, turbo, MGU-H and MGU-K, enough to send Leclerc to the bottom of the grid. There he will have the company of Yuki Tsunoda, who has also received a new engine this weekend.
Leclerc is not the only one to debut new parts at Ferrari, as Carlos Sainz has also mounted a new internal combustion unit. But unlike his partner, Sainz will not penalize yet, since it is the third of the year and continues within the allowed numbers.
Ferrari’s decision to fit a new power unit to Leclerc’s car for the Canadian GP follows two engine failures in the last three races. The Monegasque retired in the Spanish GP and in the Azerbaijan GP when he was leading.
In Barcelona, he lost a turbo and an MGU-H, while the Baku power unit was completely beyond repair.
The fact that Leclerc has already needed the help of his additional components at this point in the year, coupled with previous losses, means that, with more than half of the season to go, he is likely to have to take more penalties before the game. end of the campaign.
Although Leclerc is disappointed with the recent slump in form, he says the car’s promising pace, which has been fastest recently on a single lap, gives him encouragement for the future.
“We are aware of the pace that the car has. So we found a confidence in this,” he told Motorsport.com.
“We know obviously the reliability has been an issue in the last three races, but the performance is there. So we know that when we fix those issues we will be there fighting Red Bull for the championship.”
“I have confidence in this team, because they are giving 200% as always, obviously,” concluded the Monegasque driver.
