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Ferrari confirmed on Friday that Charles Leclerc’s engine “is beyond repair” after his DNF in Baku.
“One possible cause of the failure is that it occurred as a consequence of the PU [power unit] problem in Spain,” the team said in a statement. “We are now working on countermeasures to strengthen the package and the situation is under control.”
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix last weekend marked Leclerc’s second DNF in three races, the other occurring in Barcelona. He was leading at both moments.
The Monaco native will need to serve the grid penalty that is the inevitable consequence of a new power unit. Leclerc said the team was still discussing whether he’ll take the penalty in Canada.
“We’re not in the best situation possible,” he said, per Autosport. “Then for the power unit change, I think there are still ongoing discussions. We’re trying to push as much as possible the decision.”
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Formula One engines are split into six components, and drivers have a set number of parts they can use before being handed a penalty. Leclerc already had to switch to his second power unit of the season for the Miami Grand Prix in early May, per The Race.
The first time a driver moves past the allocated amount, they serve a 10-place grid penalty.
“It’s up to us to choose the best track where you want to get a penalty, if you get a penalty,” the Ferrari star said, per Autosport. “This is one of the tracks where it is quite easy to overtake, but there are also tracks in the next three or four races where it’s quite easy to overtake too. So, we’ll discuss and try to take the best decision from there.”
As for Carlos Sainz’s car, Ferrari announced earlier this week that his hydraulics had been examined and a “short-term fix” will be used for the Canadian Grand Prix this Sunday “while work is on-going on mid/long-term solutions.”
The latest DNF dropped Leclerc to third in the driver standings with 116 points. Max Verstappen leads with 150, Sergio Pérez sits second at 129. George Russell is closing the gap in fourth, and sits just 17 points behind Leclerc.
