Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, having only managed nineteenth in qualifying, will start from the pit lane this Sunday at the Spanish Grand Prix, round seven of the 2023 World Championship. American Logan Sargeant will do the same.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc will finally start the Spanish Grand Prix from the pit lane this Sunday in Barcelona. The Monegasque has received a new gearbox and rear suspension for his car after qualifying, where he finished 19th on Saturday.
After Leclerc’s poor performance in qualifying, Scuderia Ferrari decided not to take any risks in the race and replaced several parts on the rear of the Monegasque’s Ferrari before the start of the Spanish Grand Prix.
As the cars have been under the Parc Fermé regime since the start of qualifying, all these changes mean that the Ferrari driver will have to start this Sunday’s Grand Prix from the pit lane. This will have very little impact on him, as he should have started from the penultimate place on the grid.
F1 steward retires after slammed by Steiner
On Saturday evening, Leclerc explained that the behaviour of his car during qualifying was very strange, particularly in the left-hand corners. Ferrari was expected to change the entire chassis of its SF-23 as a precautionary measure, but the Italian team – after numerous checks – finally opted to change only the rear part of the car (suspension, gearbox, etc.).
Ferrari also took advantage of the situation to fit a new electronic control unit and a new battery to Leclerc’s car.
READ MORE: Paddock insider claims Hamilton and Russell rift
The reason behind Gasly's penalties in qualifying 👀#SpanishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/FfpcKXuPPJ
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 3, 2023
Sargeant to start from the pits
Williams driver Logan Sargeant will also start from the pit lane this Sunday in Spain. His team decided to break the Parc Fermé rule to change parts in the brake cooling system of the American’s FW45. Sargeant qualified last on the grid on Saturday.
READ MORE: Wolff ‘pissed off’ with Verstappen
