Poor PU reliability forced Ferrari to lower Charles Leclerc’s maximum power at Suzuka | 2022 Japan GP. Ferrari had to lower Charles' maximum power at Suzuka.

Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc most likely lost Pole Position for the 2022 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix due to reliability concerns, and here’s how:

The telemetry comparison between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen shows the Dutchman was quicker in the first and third sector of the Suzuka circuit, and gained most of his time on the straights and in Turns 1 and 2. Between the front and back straight the RB18 was 0.2s quicker than the F1-75, and as I said in T1/T2 where Max Verstappen gained 0.2s!

This means that overall Max Verstappen gained time from the Finish Line to Turn 3, and from Turn 14 (after Spoon) to the Finish Line, and it was enough. Charles Leclerc didn’t commit any noticable mistakes throughout his lap and lost Pole Position around 30 meters before the end of the lap.

By looking at the telemetry comparison between Charles Leclerc and his Maranello teammate Carlos Sainz, the Monegasque driver would’ve likely been on Pole at Suzuka if it wasn’t for Ferrari’s poor reliability which forced them to lower his max. power: this comparison with his teammate shows us that Carlos Sainz (with the same wing) gained around 0.3s only on the straights.

Charles Leclerc will change his Power Unit the next race in Texas but he still had to compete this weekend with his old (5 races) Power Unit taken at Spa. For those interested in the numbers, for every 10HP a car gains 0.2s at Suzuka, so the 3 tenths missing could be translated in 15HP!