MONACO — Ferrari’s initial inspection of Charles Leclerc’s car following his crash in Monaco Grand Prix qualifying has revealed no serious damage to its gearbox, but a final decision on whether fit a replacement, which could drop him from pole position to sixth, will be made on Sunday.
Leclerc secured pole in unusual circumstances as his accident in the final moments of qualifying prevented his rivals from completing faster laps that may have beaten him to the fastest time.
The Ferrari driver broke his front right suspension against the inside barrier at the second part of the Swimming Pool complex, which skirts around Monaco’s public swimming pool.
The broken suspension meant he lost control of his car and smashed into the barriers at the exit of the chicane, causing further damage to the front and rear of his Ferrari.
Although the suspension and bodywork can be fixed overnight as long as it is of the same specification, fitting a replacement gearbox would incur a five-place grid penalty.
Three hours after the session on Saturday evening, Ferrari issued a statement saying it had not discovered any major damage but would not rule out a change.
« An initial inspection of the gearbox in Charles Leclerc’s car has not revealed any serious damage, » a team spokesperson said.
« Further checks will be carried out tomorrow, to decide if the same gearbox can be used in the race. »
Speaking after the session, Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto said he would sooner have the gearbox changed than risk running a damaged component in the race.
« No, we will not gamble [with reliability], » Binotto said. « I think what’s important after such a quali is to maximise the number of points for the championship and obviously to maximise you need to finish the race.
« So reliability is key and reliability will remain the priority, so if we have any doubts we will certainly change and fix it. »
https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/31490420/ferrari-make-final-call-leclerc-gearbox-potential-grid-penalty-change-sunday
