Carlos Sainz is expected to start the French Grand Prix from the back of the grid after his first grid penalty of the weekend was confirmed.
The Spaniard had new power unit components fitted for the race weekend and has now exceeded his season allowance for Control Electronics. As a result, he has been given an automatic 10-place grid penalty for Sunday's main event.
And given that he already cannot start within the top 10, Ferrari are expected to deliberately incur further penalties to avoid having another race compromised later in the season. Sainz is in need of a new power unit sooner or later, after his last one burst into flames in Austria.
The racer was coy about whether or not he would take a new engine this weekend when asked by reporters on Thursday. "There's a chance we will put a new engine this weekend, which would involve a penalty. But we haven't taken the final decision yet," he said.
He also suggested that the team's decision would be influenced in part by how easy they think it will be to overtake at this venue.
He added: "We also need to see a bit how the overtaking is here, how everything comes into play you know with the heat, the tyres and we will take a decision but obviously there is a chance it will happen."
But it seems inevitable now that Ferrari will bite the bullet in France given he already has a grid penalty. And it is a blow to Sainz and his world championship ambitions, as he now looks set to fall even further behind leader Max Verstappen with the gap already at 75 points.
Furthermore, he is 37 points behind team-mate Charles Leclerc at a time when Ferrari are under pressure to choose a number one driver in their title push. If Sainz cannot catch and beat the Monegasque in France, his title hopes may truly be ended.
