Charles Leclerc has lost the use of a turbocharger and an MGU-H unit for the rest of the 2022 season following his retirement from the Spanish Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver appeared comfortably in the lead of yesterday’s race at the Circuit de Catalunya before his car suddenly slowed from an apparent power unit problem midway through lap 27. The terminal problem ended Leclerc’s race and opened the door for Max Verstappen and Red Bull to take the victory and with it the lead of the world championship.
A Ferrari spokesperson confirmed that Leclerc’s turbocharger and MGU-H used during the Spanish Grand Prix have both been damaged “beyond repair”, meaning Leclerc has lost use of those power unit components for the remainder of the 2022 season.
Leclerc had used just two turbochargers and two MGU-H units in his F1-75 through the opening six rounds of the championship. Each car is limited to the use of only three turbochargers and three MGU-H units throughout the 2022 season, leaving Leclerc with only two of each component left of his original allocation for the championship.
Drivers will be penalised with a ten place grid penalty for using a fourth turbocharger or MGU-H during the 22 rounds of this year’s championship. The failure in yesterday’s Spanish Grand Prix means Leclerc with the difficult prospect of using only two turbochargers and MGU-H units for the 16 remaining rounds of he season.
Fernando Alonso became the first driver to be struck by a grid penalty for exceeding his power unit allowance during the season during last weekend’s race. After suffering multiple power unit-related failures over the first five rounds of the season, Alpine opted to take a penalty by installing a fourth new Renault power unit on his car following Alonso qualifying in 17th, as the resultant penalty cost him only three additional places on the starting grid.
Despite starting from the back of the field, Alonso managed to make his way up to finish in ninth place in the…