When was the last time you remember a Formula 1 driver having to take a grid penalty in the second round of the championship as a result of reliability issues? This is unfortunately what is happening to Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc: the Monegasque driver will have to take a ten-place grid penalty next weekend at the Jeddah Corniche circuit in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will do when he crosses the line at the end of his qualifying session in Jeddah this weekend.
Ferrari have confirmed that the Monegasque will use a third control electronics unit this weekend, following the issues encountered in the opening round of the championship. However, despite the fact that Charles will start from the back of the grid, the Maranello team remains optimistic about their chances in Saudi Arabia, at a trach that should enhance the strengths of the SF-23 challenger.
Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur feels this unfortunate situation will not “demotivate” Charles Leclerc taking into consideration the fact that it is just the beginning of what is one of the longest Formula 1 campaigns in the history of the sport:
“It’s [Jeddah penalty] not good news, but it’s not also not the end of the season,” – the French manager explained, when asked about how the Monegasque is dealing with the prospect of taking a penalty so early in the season – “Let’s see what’s happens in Jeddah and what could be the outcome of the of the event is even with the penalty. But don’t imagine for a second he could be demotivated or something like this, he’s pretty convinced, he’s working with us, pushing the team, pushing everybody in a positive way.” – he added.
Charles Leclerc was justifiably upset and disappointed following the events which took place in the Bahrain Grand Prix: the SF-23 car was not able to match the pace of the Red Bull RB19 car in terms of race pace and Charles was not even able to finish the race, having to retire due to a power unit issue while running in third place.
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Yet as experienced team principal Frederic Vasseur explains, this is a normal reaction for a driver that just jumped out of their car having competed in the sweltering heats of the desert.
“When you are asking a question to drivers after 40 laps in Bahrain, the guy can be a bit exhausted and not happy with the DNF,” he explained. – “If the guy was happy after the DNF it would be another story.” – the French manager added.
Charles Leclerc was back on track last Tuesday with the team taking part in a Pirelli tyre testing session to gather data for the development of the compounds. He then went to Maranello on Wednesday to talk to the team following the poor start to the 2023 Formula One championship.
“Charles was with us at the tyre test day in Bahrain on Tuesday, and he was at the factory on Wednesday morning [where] we had a speech with all the employees where we were all together on stage. The view is that Charles is motivated, it’s one bad race out of 23, but he’s motivated. He’s pushing with the team trying to get the best from everybody.” – the Ferrari boss concluded, ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend.
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