Ferrari has confirmed that Charles Leclerc will take a grid penalty of at least 10 places for this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, after his retirement from the Bahrain GP forced the team to install a fresh electronics power unit component. Ferrari had replaced the energy store and control electronics on Leclerc’s car before the season-opening race, and teams are only permitted to use two control electronics components per season without penalty.
“We found the cause of the issue that stopped Charles in Sakhir and will use the third CU on his car, which means that we will take a grid penalty,” related team principal Fred Vasseur, who remained optimistic that the setback will not overly compromise the Monegesque driver’s race.
“The Saudi Arabian track is very different to Bahrain in terms of layout and track surface, and top speed is particularly important,” he noted. “I’m confident that we can have a better weekend here.”
However, there remains the possibility that Leclerc’s grid drop could increase if the team finds it necessary to change out the energy store component on his car.