Charles Leclerc Can Take 5-Place Grid Penalty After Smashing His Car Into the Barriers During the Qualifying in Zandvoort

Charles Leclerc had an extremely disappointing Dutch GP Qualifying session, as the Monegasque ended up crashing his car during the third part of qualifying. The crash brought out the second red flag of the session and as things stand now, Leclerc is set to start the main race tomorrow from P9. However, F1 tech expert Sam Collins explained that Leclerc might end up getting a 5-place grid penalty.

With about four minutes to the end of Q3, Leclerc ended up losing control of his car at the exit of turn nine and headed straight into the barriers. Leclerc had understeered off the track and the main impact was taken by the left front side of the car, however, the left rear was also affected.

The site of impact is quite close to the gearbox and it is understood that the Ferrari might have taken damage to its gearbox as well. If this is the case, then Leclerc would have to take a brand new gearbox for the race, and that means trouble for the Ferrari driver.

Penalty incoming for Charles Leclerc?

All F1 drivers are allowed to use a fixed number of gearboxes throughout the season. Once the cross that allocated number, they get a penalty. Only halfway into the season, Leclerc has already used up all his gearboxes. This means that any further change would result in a penalty for Leclerc.

As per the rules laid down by the FIA, any extra gearbox outside of the allotted four is accompanied by a five-place grid penalty. And as per Sam Collins, Leclerc might have a penalty coming his way. Collins analyzed the crash in detail and explained that a lot of force went through the rear drive shaft once the left rear of the car hit the barriers.

Collins explained, “Charles Leclerc took his final gearbox of the season just before this session, four out of the four allowed. If he has damaged that he will be picking up a penalty for fitting an additional gearbox.” This might end up being a huge problem for Leclerc, especially on a track like Zandvoort, where overtaking is extra difficult.

A lesson to learn for Leclerc

If he does get a five-place grid penalty, Leclerc would have to start the race down in P14, behind the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda. In contrast, his teammate Carlos Sainz would be starting the race from P6.

This happens to be yet another instance of Leclerc’s extremely poor history of pushing past the limit in qualifying. It is not the first time that the Ferrari driver has spoiled things while trying to achieve more than the car’s limit. A similar incident had happened earlier this year during the Miami GP.