Leclerc to take 10-place grid drop for Abu Dhabi GP

Charles Leclerc is set for a 10-place grid penalty at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after Ferrari was forced to fit a new battery for the last race of the season.

The Monegasque is hoping to help Ferrari beat rival McLaren to the constructors’ championship this weekend in their close-fought battle.

However, his hopes have suffered a blow with the change of battery meaning he has used more than his allocation for the campaign.

The energy store fitted during Friday practice is his third of the year, which takes him over the allowed two parts – so it becomes an automatic 10-place drop.

Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari (Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images)

Ferrari is 21 points behind McLaren in the constructors’ championship heading into the Yas Marina event, and realistically needs to deliver a 1-2 finish in the race to have any hope of overhauling its rival.

Speaking ahead of track action getting under way, Leclerc had said that there was no room for error in the team’s execution of the weekend if it was to deliver its target.

“I think on our side, we need to do everything perfect, that's for sure,” he said. “And by doing everything perfect, I really mean it.

“I think we need to do first and second this weekend and we need things to not go exactly the way they want in McLaren because on paper they will be strong on this track as well. It's also true that we've never won here in Abu Dhabi, so there's quite a lot of work.

“It's not impossible. I think we've had the right approach in the last few races, and we've taken some points, even on weekends where we did not expect to do so.

“On this weekend we are a bit more neutral, and we think that it's going to be a positive weekend for us so I really hope that is the case and that we can take that opportunity in order to win the championship. But it's a stretch for sure.”

Williams duo Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto will also be taking grid drops for using extra parts.

Both drivers face a five-place grid penalty after taking extra RNCs [restricted-number components] that are outside of their allocation for the year.

The teams said this was as a result of incidents that took place in Qatar last weekend. Colapinto was hit in a first-corner clash with Esteban Ocon while Albon came home lapped in 15th.