If Charles Leclerc wants to get his first victory since the Australian Grand Prix, he will have to make his way through the Montreal field, as he has been forced to make a 10-place penalty on the grid after s ‘announced that it will be taken away. a new control electronics in your Ferrari F1-75.
Leclerc retired from leading the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last weekend, the second time in three races that the Ferrari driver had been forced to retire from a race with engine problems, after ‘having also suffered problems in Barcelona.
Earlier this weekend, Ferrari admitted that the power unit used by Leclerc in Baku was “out of repair”, and despite speculation, it was unclear whether the Monegasque rider would be forced to impose a penalty on the grill. However, after FP2, where Leclerc finished second after Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, Ferrari announced that it had been forced to take on new control electronics, which Leclerc believed was the best.
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“Well, I’m obviously starting a little further back,” Leclerc said of the penalty kick. “But I think it was the best decision to make, so let’s see how it goes. The overtaking was a little harder than I expected today, but yeah, I mean the pace is there, so hopefully that we can get back to where we want to be. “
Ferrari wants to close the 80-point gap with Red Bull in the Canadian constructors’ championship. And when asked how far apart the two rivals were, Leclerc said: “It’s pretty close. The pace of the race we have to work on; I mean, it’s a little hard to have a clear picture because it was in a different compound all the time, but overall it didn’t look bad, so it’s okay. “
Leclerc teammate Carlos Sainz also wants to recover in Montreal, after he also withdrew prematurely from the Baku race due to a hydraulic problem. And despite finishing in P2 and P3 in the first and second training sessions, Sainz believes Ferrari is playing catch-up with Red Bull and Verstappen.
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“Max seems to be very fast this weekend, he was there from the start, and I think we’re playing a little bit to catch him up, both in a lap and in the long run,” Sainz said. “But I think with the steps we normally take on Saturday and Sunday, we can get there.”
Ferrari’s challenge at Verstappen has been made more difficult by Leclerc’s grid penalty which, being Leclerc’s first EC offense of the year, would mean he has dropped 10 places on the grid, with fans F1 waiting to see if Ferrari opts for more component changes to the grid. The Monegasque power plant as the weekend progresses.