F1 | Ferrari: Leclerc’s PU problem cost 80 horsepower

The double zero weighs on Ferrari, more on morale than on the standings, with the Maranello team having to immediately put aside the Canadian weekend to concentrate on one of the most difficult tests of the year, the Barcelona Grand Prix.

Those who want to quickly forget the Montreal event are also Charles Leclerc, protagonist of a weekend in which nothing went as hoped. After an overall encouraging Friday, so much so that the Monegasque underlined how the Red was competitive in all conditions, Saturday and Sunday were full of problems, both in terms of pace and reliability.

What bothered Leclerc on Saturday was a problem with the sensor that records the brake temperature, which reported higher than normal values ​​on the right rear unit, sending a false alarm signal to the steering wheel about possible overheating. The problem arose both in free practice 3 and in qualifying, so much so that the mechanics then intervened in parc fermé and replaced the sensor.

However, the problems recorded on Sunday were much more serious and had an impact on the race of the Cavallino standard bearer. In fact, in the first part of the race, the engineers recorded a problem linked to the PU, with an increasingly higher specific weight from a performance point of view as the laps went by. According to data recorded by the Scuderia, the problem initially caused a loss of around half a second on the straights, but as the track dried and the race progressed, that value grew to around a second. Clearly, however, despite the problem, the Red team lacked performance on both days.

“It was a very tough weekend for all of us. With Charles we had an engine problem which caused us to lose around 80 horsepower for about fifteen laps: we were hoping for a red flag to reset and restart but it didn’t happen and so we had to stop during the race”, he said. told the Ferrari Team Principal, who then added that the problem did not seem to be linked to the engine itself, but to the management part of the Power Unit linked to the control unit.

“We still don’t have precise information on what happened, but it wasn’t a problem related to the engine itself, it was something related to the engine control, so we had to stop the engine. We did a reset, but it lasted 30 or 40 seconds. He wasn’t the best pitstop of the season.”

Ferrari’s hope was that a red flag would allow them to fix the problem in the pits, so as not to lose positions. Initially, in fact, the engineers tried to resolve the situation with recovery procedures, internally called “default drivers”, with which the team can act on the sensors and other elements of the Power Unit. However, this was not enough and, taking advantage of the Safety Car, the Red team decided to stop the car to carry out a “power cycle”, i.e. the procedure with which the car is completely turned off, as a sort of reset. Clearly, however, this procedure requires time to be carried out, because the single-seater must pass through the three phases P0, P1 and P2 which indicate the ignition of the various systems, from the electrical part to the combustion engine.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

We wondered why Ferrari didn’t carry out this procedure when it returned for the first pit stop, switching to another set of intermediate tyres, when rain was expected to arrive within a few minutes. The reason is purely practical: at that moment, his teammate, Carlos Sainz, was behind the Monegasque, so resetting the car at that moment would have meant wasting time for the Spaniard too. Sainz would not only have lost positions, but he would also have had to remain stationary with the hot car in the pit lane, an aspect that the cars do not tolerate.

During the Safety Car period, however, the team and driver began to think. Given that the risk of rain had significantly decreased, especially in terms of intensity, Leclerc and the team began to evaluate a switch to slicks, in what was a sort of all or nothing. Considering that he would have moved to the back of the group anyway and that the safety car would still have allowed the gaps to be even partially closed, Ferrari took advantage of this to both stop and reset.

The choice of switching to slicks, as well as that of hards to go all the way to the checkered flag, was shared between team and driver, but the return of rain in the moments following the stop clearly did not reward the “courage” of the decision , prompting Leclerc to return to the pits a few laps later to fit intermediate tires again. If the tire gamble had not given the desired results, on the contrary the reset procedure had worked as hypothesized, demonstrating that it could be more of a problem with the management of the Power Unit than with the engine itself.

Leclerc problem telemetry in Canada

Photo by: Gianluca D’Alessandro

Although it is difficult to compare the data in different situations, it is noted that before and after the reset there is a difference in speed that can be recorded on all stretches, but which averages between 10 and 15 km/h on the long straight before the last chicane.

“In the first part of the race it was very frustrating because on the straight I was overtaken by everyone, but I think we did a good job managing it. When we were still in wet conditions we could recover in the corners, I was still convinced that we could finish in the points. But then, as soon as it dried, on the straights I found myself being a target for others,” explained Leclerc.

“I knew it would be difficult to score points, so we had to try something with the slicks. I was more frustrated with the whole situation and the performance of the engine on the straights than with the actual choice because, if it had worked, maybe it was our only chance of finishing ninth or tenth, and if it hadn’t worked or if we had remained in the position we were in before.”