Charles Leclerc’s huge accident at Monza will have consequences in Madrid. Ferrari had to install an older specification of its engine in the Monegasque’s SF-26.
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Charles Leclerc will have to cope with a technical handicap during the Spanish Grand Prix. For the first Formula 1 race held on the Madring, Ferrari was forced to revert to an older specification of its power unit in the Monegasque’s SF-26.
This decision is directly linked to his violent accident that occurred last weekend at Monza. Leclerc lost control of his Ferrari in the Parabolica on the second lap before crashing into the barriers with considerable force, the impact measured at about 60 g. The consequences therefore go beyond the pain felt by the driver in the days that followed.
Ferrari temporarily abandons its evolved engine
The Italian Grand Prix had marked an important step in the development of the Ferrari engine. The Scuderia had taken advantage of the last additional development opportunities granted by the FIA to introduce at Monza its first evolution of the power unit since the start of the season.
Leclerc therefore had this new specification when he started from third position on the grid, hoping to fight for the podium in front of the tifosi. His accident in the Parabolica, however, ended his race after only two laps and forced Ferrari to revise its plans for Madrid.
As a precaution, the Italian team decided to draw from the pool of engines already used by Leclerc and install in his SF-26 a unit prior to this latest evolution. The Monegasque will therefore not benefit this weekend from the same improvements as those introduced at Monza.
What handicap for Leclerc in Madrid?
It now remains to determine the real impact of this decision on Leclerc’s performance. The Madring has a very different profile from Monza, where power and top speed play a particularly important role, which could limit the consequences of reverting to the older specification.
The new Spanish circuit has 22 corners and mixes very fast sections with much more technical sectors. Some long accelerations should nevertheless strongly stress the power unit, and the slightest performance difference could become important in a particularly tight hierarchy.
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Ferrari will therefore have to assess during free practice how much Leclerc actually concedes with this older unit. On a completely new circuit, where teams still have few references, isolating the effect of the engine precisely could however prove complicated.
A direct consequence of the violent Monza accident
This situation adds an additional consequence to the difficult weekend experienced by Leclerc in Italy. Starting third, the Ferrari driver hoped to take advantage of his good position on the grid to achieve an important result at home, but his mistake in the Parabolica abruptly ended his ambitions.
After going slightly wide out of the last corner, two wheels of his SF-26 had crossed the white line before hitting a long drainage grate. The car was then destabilized and thrown at high speed against the barriers.
Leclerc briefly suffered from vision problems after the impact and felt neck pain in the following days. Medical examinations, however, revealed no injury likely to prevent him from participating in the Madrid Grand Prix.
Return of the new engine planned for Baku
The good news for Ferrari is that this situation should remain temporary. The team plans to reinstall the version with the latest upgrades on Leclerc’s SF-26 as early as the next Grand Prix, held in Azerbaijan in two weeks.
This return will be particularly important in Baku, where the very long acceleration periods and the huge straight make the power unit’s performance much more decisive. Ferrari should therefore avoid sending Leclerc there with the older specification used this weekend in Madrid.
In the meantime, the Monegasque will have to try to limit the consequences of this technical setback on the Madring. One week after his huge 60 g accident, Leclerc is still paying the price: Ferrari must temporarily give up its latest engine evolution and bring out an older unit for the Spanish Grand Prix.
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