Leclerc Hopeful Damaged Monza Power Unit Can Be Saved as Ferrari Faces Grid Penalty Threat

Ferrari is currently assessing whether the power unit damaged in Charles Leclerc's crash at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza can be saved, with a grid penalty remaining a possibility if the engine cannot be recovered.

The improved power unit was installed for the race at Monza, but Leclerc was unable to utilize it in race conditions after crashing into the barriers at Parabolica on Lap 1, an incident that involved a 60G impact. The damaged unit was subsequently removed, forcing Ferrari to fit an older specification engine for the race at the MADring. Leclerc stated that team engineers are still inspecting the component and noted that a grid penalty will likely be incurred if it cannot be repaired.

Beyond immediate reliability concerns, Leclerc pointed to a performance gap regarding Ferrari's single-lap pace during qualifying. He explained that while the car demonstrates strong race pace on Sundays, it struggles with energy deployment from the power unit over a single lap on Saturdays, compromising their grid position before the race begins.

Leclerc acknowledged that Ferrari does not have any quick fixes to resolve the energy deployment issue during qualifying. However, he emphasized that achieving even marginal performance gains on Saturday would be very helpful for the team's final race results.