The surprising possible cause behind Leclerc’s Ferrari grid penalty

The curse of Abu Dhabi lingered large for Ferrari after a battery failure on the power unit of Charles Leclerc’s SF-24 just before the start of Free Practice 1. 

This was the most-feared scenario for the team that a reliability failure at the last race of the race would make its conquest of the constructors’ championship even more difficult, or even impossible. 

The problem was first detected during the pre-heating phase of the power unit before the session, with the energy store in question being introduced in Canada, some 15 races ago. 

Whilst this does not automatically justify a failure of the part, it is understandable, with some rival engine technicians who RacingNews365 spoke to the Yas Marina paddock indicating that the use of particularly advanced power unit modes could be behind the wear of the energy store.

The modes in question concern the actual charging of the battery and not energy release to ensure deployment and aid traction over actual top speed may, over time, constitute wear for components inside the battery.

Such a thesis requires further investigation from Ferrari, but overall, the power unit has been extremely reliable this season, with the only penalties incurred coming after Carlos Sainz crashed in qualifying in Brazil, with the team electing to take penalties which meant he started from the pit-lane.