Initial checks of the gearbox on Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari have found no serious damage, the Italian team said, in a boost for their driver’s hopes of starting from pole position in his home Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.
Leclerc crashed in the last minute of qualifying on Saturday, securing pole but dashing the hopes of rivals who had to abort their final flying laps late on in the session on the streets of Monte-Carlo.
The impact raised fears that the 23-year-old could lose the pole if the gearbox needed replacing, triggering a penalty that would drop Leclerc to sixth on the grid and promote Red Bull’s title contender Max Verstappen to pole.
A Ferrari spokeswoman said further checks would be carried out on Sunday to decide whether the same gearbox could be used in the race.
The team also tweeted: “An initial inspection of the gearbox in Charles Leclerc’s car has not revealed any serious damage. Further checks will be carried out tomorrow, to decide if the same gearbox can be used in the race.”
Team boss Mattia Binotto assured reporters the team would put safety first: “We will not gamble. For us what’s important after such a qualifying is to try to maximise the number of points for the championship, and obviously to maximise we need to finish the race.
“Reliability remains the priority. If we have any doubts, we will certainly change and fix it,” he added.
For Leclerc, it was a bittersweet afternoon in his neighbourhood streets. He summed up: “Mixed feelings today. On the one hand, being on pole here is amazing. I was quite happy with my fastest lap in Q3. The first sector wasn’t ideal, but in the second and third, I put it together.
“I knew I could do better but I pushed too hard on my final lap trying to improve. Unfortunately, I hit the wall and now all we can do is keep our fingers crossed and hope that the damage won’t result in a penalty.
Of course, it is encouraging to see our performance, but I believe that it’s a bit of a one-off as the track suits the characteristics of our SF21 really well. That’s why we were so competitive today.
“We have to keep in mind that we are still not at the level of the two teams leading the championship, but for now, it does feel great to have extracted the maximum today.
“Whatever the outcome, I will give my all tomorrow. It feels great to be at home and to see all the fans around the track. It’s Monaco, it’s very unpredictable, and also challenging for us drivers, especially in the race with so many laps.
“It’s a great challenge and we will try to put everything together to get a good result,” added Leclerc who has crashed out of both his previous F1 races at the Principality.
Pole position on the day was Leclerc’s first in Monaco and eighth of his career. The last Monegasque to take a home pole was Louis Chiron in 1936, before the world championship came into existence. Coincidentally, Leclerc is wearing a special helmet paying tribute to his fellow countryman this weekend.
Notably, it is also Ferrari’s first top spot start since the Mexican Grand Prix in 2019. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin)
That pole position lap ⏱ @Charles_Leclerc
Just a Monegasque driver setting his first ever #F1 pole in Monaco wearing a helmet celebrating Louis Chiron ??? #essereFerrari ? #MonacoGPpic.twitter.com/zXSaqyDteZ
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) May 22, 2021