A fourth place finish for Carlos Sainz in the opening round of the 2023 Formula 1 championship cannot satisfy the ambitions of Scuderia Ferrari which was completely overshadowed by Red Bull and even overtaken by Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin in the final stages of the race. Without Charles Leclerc’s technical failure, the Monegasque would perhaps have taken third place. And starting the season on the podium would have been important for morale, which is now below zero.
Following the disaster of the first weekend of the 2023 Formula season, there is some news that can be positive: Charles Leclerc’s power unit did not break on lap 40, but was silenced. Worn out. The Monegasque was left without ignition because it was the ECU that failed. Motorsport Italy reports that Charles was forced to retire from the race because of a blackout of the control unit (CE). So the component that Ferrari changed before the race as a precautionary measure.
The 066/7 could still be used because it may not have sustained any damage, but the alarm remains for the Maranello engineers, because there is something suddenly not right in the electrical system: before the race it was necessary to replace the hybrid battery and control unit. It seemed that they were only precautionary interventions and, instead, at the first Grand Prix of the season, Charles Leclerc was sadly forced to retire due to the issue of the second control unit.
This means that if the one removed after qualifying cannot be recovered, Charles Leclerc will have to take a penalty already from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix which will be held in Jeddah in two weeks. But what is the “disease” hiding in Ferrari’s electronics?
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