If yesterday we had speculated about a possible penalty, today came the final choice by the Team Principal, Frederic Vasseur, regarding a penalty for Charles Leclerc on the grid in Jeddah for a possible replacement of the control unit of his SF-23.
Vasseur: Thorough investigation, we will pay the price
As you will recall, the Monegasque Ferrari standard bearer was forced to retire during the Bahrain Grand Prix due to causes related to the control unit. Just that component had been replaced in the pre-race, due to a failure of the component during the fire-up. The basic problem was related to the car's wiring, performed incorrectly and such as to short-circuit the two control units.
These are the words of team principal Vasseur in this regard, during a call with some media:
“There were two problems with the ECU. One when turning on the power unit in the morning, and one during the race. Unfortunately for us, the problem has never occurred before. I am convinced that now everything will be under control, we have investigated the problem and we will have to take a penalty in Jeddah ”.
Leclerc, at most eleventh in qualifying
Due to the regulatory limit (two control units for the whole year), Leclerc will therefore be at having to go to penalty in Jeddah, paying well 10 positions on the starting grid. However, the choice soon unmarks a fundamental component in the long term, with the possibility of recovering one of the two control units to complete the year.
In the best of cases, therefore, Leclerc will be able to start at the latest in eleventh position, and in any case it will be a comeback race for the Ferrari standard bearer. It will be up to the other Cavallino driver, Carlos Sainz, try to undermine the two Red Bull you seem so distant from the rest of the group in Bahrain. However, it is true that Jeddah seems to adapt better to the characteristics of the SF-23, so the values in the field could change.
