A blow for Ferrari at the start of the course.
It has not been a great start to the season for the Ferrari team or for one of its drivers, Charles Leclerc. At the Bahrain GP, the Italian team was forced to replace the electronic control unit of the Monegasque’s Ferrari SF-23 after discovering a problem before the race, and the new component failed again during the Grand Prix, causing Charles to abandon when I was third.
According to Formula 1 regulations, only two switchboards can be used during the same season, which means that Charles has already exhausted all his ‘legal’ possibilities. For this reason, the talented driver from Monaco will have to use a third unit and will consequently receive a 10-position grid penalty at the Saudi Arabian GP.
The terrible result, especially at this early stage of the season, has been revealed by Fred Vasseur, director of the Italian team, according to the official Formula 1 website.
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“On Sunday (in Bahrain) we had two different problems. The first was in the morning, when we started the engine and the second, in the race. Unfortunately, on both occasions what failed was the control unit,” said the French engineer, that he hasn’t had a great start to the year in his new role.
“It has never happened to us in the past. I hope it is under control now. We will do a deep analysis on this. Unfortunately, we will receive a penalty in Jeddah, because we can only use two switchboards per season,” he said.
In this way, Ferrari will start the Saudi Arabian GP one step behind its direct rivals, Red Bull, and also Mercedes and Aston Martin. All the hopes of achieving a good result will be centered on Carlos Sainz, who was fourth in Bahrain, and who for the moment has not had any problems in his Ferrari.
Vasseur has highlighted the unity within the team despite the problems, and asks for patience, since the season has only just begun. “(Leclerc) is at the top with the team, trying to get the best for everyone. The sanction is not good news, but it does not mean the end of the season.”
“We’ll see how Jeddah goes and what the result is, even with the penalty. Don’t think for half a second that Charles might be unmotivated. He’s working alongside the team and pushing in a very positive way,” he added.
What Vasseur has asked Ferrari for is improvements to be able to react both in terms of reliability and performance. In Saudi Arabia he expects “reactions”, without stopping to look at the rest of the rivals, “focusing on ourselves”, which is the first thing to ensure before fighting for more ambitious objectives.
