A 10-place grid penalty for Charles Leclerc at the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has put Ferrari on the back foot in the fight for the Constructors’ Championship.
Ferrari enters the Abu Dhabi GP weekend 21 points behind McLaren in the Constructors standings.
However, in FP1, things turned against Ferrari with Leclerc resigned to the garage for the first half of the session.
Despite topping FP1, Ferrari was dealt a hammer blow in the form of a 10-place grid penalty as it had to replace the batter pack on Leclerc’s car.
This has made an already steep task of clinching the Constructors’ title that much harder, as Leclerc said the Ferrari needs the perfect weekend at the Yas Marina Circuit.
“We need to do everything perfect, that’s for sure and by doing everything perfect, I really mean it,” he told select media including Motorsport Week on Thursday.
“I think we need to do first and second this weekend. We need things to not go exactly the way they want in McLaren because on paper, they will be strong on this track as well.”
Now, Leclerc is resigned to a best possible starting position of 11th in Abu Dhabi, making the target of attaining a 1-2 finish highly improbable.
Ferrari wasn’t the only team dealt a poor hand in FP1.
Williams, a team blighted by consistent high-damage crashes of late, is feeling the keen sting of grid penalties as well.
Both Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto have been handed five-place grid penalties for gearbox changes.
READ MORE – Charles Leclerc tops Abu Dhabi GP FP1 for Ferrari
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