Ferrari confirm no penalties for Charles Leclerc amid F1-75 rear damage after FP2 crash in Mexico. Ferrari confirm no penalties for Charles.

Mercedes’ George Russell set the pace in the second free practice session for the Mexico City Grand Prix at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, as Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc suffered a huge crash during the Pirelli tyre test.

FP2 for the Mexican Grand Prix was extended by 30 minutes to 90 minutes in order to give Pirelli the opportunity to collect data regarding the development of its compounds for the 2023 season, just like in the second practice session for the United States Grand Prix, which was held seven days ago at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas.

Unfortunately, Charles Leclerc was not able to complete Pirelli’s 2023 tyre test, as halfway through the session he lost control of his Ferrari F1-75 challenger at the left-hand Turn 7 and hit the barrier heavily, which caused a lot of damage to the rear area of his car and led to a red flag. It was not a high-speed crash and the Monegasque driver confirmed over the team radio that he was completely unhurt following the impact, but now the Maranello team’s mechanics have a lengthy repair job ahead of them during the night, in order to get his car back into shape for the final free practice session and qualifying on Saturday.

Charles Leclerc’s team-mate, Carlos Sainz, did not manage to complete a single lap in the most recent two races: the Spaniard lost control of his car and hit the barriers in wet track conditions at the Suzuka circuit, before being taken out by the Mercedes of George Russell last weekend in Austin, which forced him to retire due to a terminal water leak.

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While Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari F1-75 car was taken back to the Maranello team’s garage, Sky Sport F1’s Ted Kravitz speculated a gearbox change could be needed – possibly leading to a grid penalty for Sunday’s race. However, at the end of the second free practice session for the 2022 Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix Ferrari at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Scuderia Ferrari confirmed that “Charles’ F1-75 sustained damage at the rear, but there will not be any penalties for tomorrow.”