Montreal (Reuters)
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc faces a penalty for delayed start at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, after his team declared the car’s engine beyond repair after ending its hopes in the last Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Ferrari said the power unit was badly damaged beyond repair, and the problem may be related to a previous one at the Spanish Grand Prix.
A spokeswoman said the team was looking for solutions.
Leclerc dropped to third place in the Formula 1 world championship standings, 34 points behind world champion Max Verstappen, Red Bull, after eight rounds out of 22 races this season.
For the fourth time in a row, Leclerc fails to benefit from his pole position, due to problems with Ferrari’s engine efficiency and team strategy.
It was the second time in three races that Leclerc retired while in pole position.
Leclerc’s exit came shortly after team-mate Carlos Sainz withdrew due to a hydraulic problem.
The Monaco driver told reporters ahead of practice for the Canadian Grand Prix that no decision had been made on when to impose the penalty, resulting from exceeding the quotas for power unit components this season.
“It is clear that we are not in the best position,” he added. As for changing the power unit, I think there are still discussions going on. We will try to delay the punishment as much as possible. At the moment, no decision has been made.
Leclerc said Canada was not a bad place to receive a penalty, given the ease of overtaking opponents at the track but some of the other tracks coming up could be better.
He added: We will discuss it and try to reach the best decision.
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