Leclerc took Ferrari’s first pole position in 18 months after leading qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday.
But the session ended under a red flag after Leclerc crashed at the Swimming Pool exit, preventing other cars from improving their lap times and accidentally giving him pole.
Leclerc admitted after the session that he was concerned that the crash damaged the gearbox of his Ferrari SF21, which could result in a start penalty if a change were required.
Ferrari issued a statement Saturday night saying it had completed its initial checks on Leclerc’s gearbox and, although no major damage was found, it wouldn’t decide whether or not to change it until Sunday morning.
“A first inspection of the transmission in Charles Leclerc’s car showed no serious damage,” said a brief statement from Ferrari.
“More checks will be carried out tomorrow to determine whether the same transmission can be used in the race.”
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The news will be a welcome relief for Ferrari, but team principal Mattia Binotto said after qualifying it won’t take any reliability risks.
“No, we won’t play,” said Binotto.
“I think after qualifying like this it is important for us to try to maximize the number of points for the championship and of course we have to get the maximum possible to finish the race.
“So reliability is the key, reliability remains the priority. If we have any doubts, we will surely change and fix it.”
Should Leclerc be forced to change the gearbox, he would fall back to sixth place on the grid and Red Bulls Max Verstappen would take pole position.
A downgrade would also give Valtteri Bottas, Carlos Sainz Jr., Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly spots who would qualify for the top three rows.
Leclerc sweated after news about the condition of his transmission after the crash and admitted that he felt “pretty shitty” after the incident because fear posts could be thrown away.
“I’m just waiting for the gearbox and that’s it,” he said. “At the moment I can’t enjoy this quality the way I would like it to be.”
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