MONACO — A full inspection of the gearbox on Charles Leclerc’s car ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix revealed no damage as a result of his accident in qualifying, meaning it will not be changed ahead of the race and he will not be subject to a grid penalty.
Leclerc secured pole in unusual circumstances on Saturday as his accident in the final moments of qualifying prevented his rivals 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, but a hit to the rear when he came to a halt at the exit of the corner raised concerns about gearbox damage and a potential five-place penalty for changing it.
An initial inspection of the gearbox on Saturday night revealed no major damage and further checks on Sunday morning led Ferrari to decide not to change the gearbox. Leclerc will retain pole position as a result.
« Following further in depth checks this morning, no apparent defects were found on Charles Leclerc’s gearbox, therefore the Monegasque driver will start today’s race from pole position, as per the qualifying result, » a team spokesperson said on Sunday.
Speaking on Saturday evening, 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/leclerc-start-pole-no-damage-found-gearbox
