Ferrari has fitted new Control Electronics to the cars of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc ahead of this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.
Leclerc led in Bahrain but suffered a cylinder loss during the final 15 laps and dropped to third place.
Ferrari later confirmed it was due to a short circuit within an injection system control unit, a fault that had never been seen before.
Leclerc’s engine was fine to remain in his SF90 at Shanghai this weekend but both he and Vettel – along with Haas drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen – have taken on their second Control Electronics of the year.
The Ferrari-powered Alfa Romeo drivers have not taken on any new components.
The Control Electronics is one of the six components that make up the power unit, and only two of those are permitted per year before a driver is handed a grid penalty.
Elsewhere both Renault drivers and McLaren’s Lando Norris have joined the Briton’s team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr. in taking on a new MGU-K, as Renault tries to get a handle on the problems it has encountered with the component.
Hulkenberg has also taken on a new Internal Combustion Engine, Turbocharger and MGU-H.
Meanwhile Honda is changing the power unit in Daniil Kvyat’s Toro Rosso as a precaution after detecting an anomaly in the data during the opening practice session.
It is the first in-season engine change for the manufacturer in 2019.
