“Irreparably damaged”– Charles Leclerc is in line to get a grid penalty as Ferrari will install the third engine of his season before Spa.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc saw severe damage to his car after his crash in Hungaroring, and it has damaged his current engine beyond repair, which now forces Ferrari to give him his third engine of the season, which brings him in line for a grid penalty later this year.
In a Formula 1 season, a driver is only allowed to change an engine thrice, after which they would be penalised for following power unit change.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Ferrari said: “Examination of the number 16 SF21 carried out yesterday in Maranello, revealed that on top of this, the engine was irreparably damaged and cannot be used again, following the impact from Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin.
“This is a further blow for Scuderia Ferrari and the Monegasque driver. This damage has a financial impact and also racing ramifications, given that over the remaining 12 race weekends this season, it is highly likely the team could be obliged to fit a fourth ICE to Charles’ SF21, thus incurring grid penalties.”
Even Red Bull is suffering from the same situation, as both Perez and Verstappen will be using their third engine in Belgium; for Verstappen, the third engine was even utilized in Hungary as Honda found the engine damaged in Silverstone not viable anymore.
Ferrari wants others to pay
While Red Bull has asserted that the cost of the damage be exempted from the budget caps, as it brings unnecessary financial burden for teams when they are not even at fault and are rather victims.
But Ferrari has a more radical suggestion and has asked the FIA to make other teams pay for their respective drivers’ errors to inject a sense of responsibility.
