Scuderia Ferrari has decided to bring its power unit upgrade earlier than initially scheduled and will fit the new engine to the SF21 car of Charles Leclerc during this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix, which means that the Monegasque driver will receive a grid penalty and therefore have to start from the back of the grid on Sunday afternoon.
The Maranello team confirmed a few weeks ago that it plans to introduce an upgrade to its power unit in the second half of the 2021 Formula One season.
Ferrari also explained why the latest power unit version is used for the moment just on the Monegasque driver’s car: Charles Leclerc was involved in a heavy crash following contact with Lance Stroll at the Hungarian Grand Prix, after which Ferrari confirmed his car’s power unit was “irreparably damaged.” Due to this, Charles Leclerc had been set to take a grid penalty at some point for a replacement and the decision is therefore a precautionary measure relating to the potential risk of using the battery pack damaged in his Hungarian GP accident.
Charles Leclerc’s team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr may receive the update starting most likely with the Turkish Grand Prix. In an official statement Scuderia Ferrari said “a great deal of effort has gone into this, both technically and logistically, and so as to be able to use it as soon as possible, its introduction will be staggered between the drivers.”
Ferrari will decide whether to fit the new hybrid system to Carlos Sainz’s car “following an evaluation of the right compromise between competitiveness and the impact of the penalty”, the Italian side explained.
The complete list of parts replaced on Charles Leclerc’s SF21 car has not yet been revealed but Ferrari’s announcement confirmed that they expected him to start from the back of the grid and that the complete power unit would be changed, including the internal combustion engine.
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