Leclerc to take penalty soon as Ferrari confirm engine can't be fixed · RaceFans

Charles Leclerc is preparing to take a grid penalty in one of the coming races after Ferrari confirmed the power unit which failed in his car during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix cannot be repaired.

The Ferrari driver suffered a failure while leading in Baku on Sunday. He has already used the maximum number of turbochargers permitted during a season, and will receive an automatic 10-place grid penalty if he takes another.

“Obviously we’re not in the best situation possible,” Leclerc admitted. “Then for the power unit change I think there are still ongoing discussions, we’ll try and push as much as possible the decision.

“For now, no decisions are taken. But it’s not the best situation to be in.”

Amid speculation he could take the penalty this weekend, Leclerc said coming races at Silverstone or the Red Bull Ring could also offer good opportunities to take a penalty for a power unit change.

“This is part of our discussions. It’s up to us to choose the best track where to get a penalty, if you get a penalty.

“This is one of the tracks where it’s actually quite easy to overtake but there are also some other tracks in the next three or four races, where it’s easier to overtake too. So we’ll discuss and try and take the best decision from there.”

Ferrari believe Leclerc’s race-ending failure last week may have occurred as a consequence of the earlier fault which put him out of the Spanish Grand Prix, also while he was leading.

“We are now working on countermeasures to strengthen the package and the situation is under control,” a spokesperson for the team added.

Ferrari and Red Bull broke the curfew on working hours in the paddock on Wednesday night at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. It is the first time this year Ferrari have broken this curfew, one of several which are imposed over the course of a race weekend, and the second time for Red Bull. Teams are allowed to break the curfew a total of eight times during the season before incurring a penalty.

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