Ferrari’s title aspirations hit a blow after grid penalty for Charles Leclerc

Having hoped for a strong race result amid the tight championship battle with McLaren, Ferrari have endured a blow after Charles Leclerc has been hit with a ten-place grid drop for the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Although McLaren displayed a stronger performance than Ferrari in Qatar, the Scuderia managed to reduce the gap to 21 points in the Constructors’ Championship. It meant that the Maranello-based outfit has maintained its hopes to clinch its first teams’ title since 2008.

However, Charles Leclerc was forced to wait in the pits for the first 20 minutes of the opening practice session in Abu Dhabi, with a technical issue preventing him to head out on to the track.

It later emerged that the Monegasque endured a battery issue on his car. Although Ferrari managed to fix the problem, the Scuderia was forced to install a new unit into Leclerc’s car.

The change means that Leclerc has now exceeded the allocation of two energy stores per season and must serve a grid drop, which means that he will be hit with a 10-place penalty for the season finale at the Yas Marina Circuit.

“The energy store used by Charles Leclerc is the third (3rd) of the two (2) new energy stores allowed for the 2024 Championship season and this is not in conformity with Article 28.2 of the 2024 Formula One Sporting Regulations,” read FIA’s statement.