The Corniche Circuit in Jeddah is the fastest street circuit in the world. And the track with 27 high-speed corners experienced a foretaste of Formula 1 racing action this Friday. However, at Turn 22, exactly where the track’s name is announced, we poetically had our first big crash of the weekend when Charles Leclerc finished the FP2 session with less than five minutes to go.
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Leclerc, who was on a hot lap, pushed his Ferrari to its absolute limits on medium-sized tires. But he lost his rear end at turn 22 and before he knew it, his car was right in the wall.
As many had predicted, a crash on this tunnel-like high-speed route will destroy almost every car. And that is what Leclerc has just proven.
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After the crash, the front and rear suspension and the two fenders of the car with the number 16 were nowhere to be seen. The car may also have sustained significant chassis and possibly transmission damage that could be worrying for Ferrari and its fans.
Will Charles Leclerc get a starting place penalty in the race?
First off, Leclerc’s gearbox does not appear to be damaged. However, if it does, a change will not result in a grid penalty as it usually does.
This is because teams can only replace parts until FP2 without receiving a penalty. Assuming a damaged transmission after the crash, if this crash had happened in qualifying or even in FP3, Leclerc would have received a starting place penalty for the race.
Although Ferrari may only get a warning from the FIA as they are breaking curfew to fix Leclerc’s car, it will be a long night for Ferrari mechanics before qualifying.
Who seems to be ahead in Jeddah?
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Mercedes. As expected.
Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets while his team-mate Valtteri Bottas was second fastest. But to interrupt the recurring topic “Why are you always three?”, Pierre Gasly replaced table leader Max Verstappen as third fastest.
Red Bull appeared to be lacking in pace compared to its rivals, but it could also be because Verstappen was keeping an eye on qualifying. But his team-mate Sergio Perez had to improve his performance in the coming sessions, as he was only ninth fastest.
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Overall, the upcoming sessions, especially qualifying, could be pretty tricky as the drivers need to be extremely in sync as they blindly turn into a corner at over 250 mph.
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The post Will Charles Leclerc impose a grid penalty for a major F1 change after a major crash while training in Saudi Arabia? first appeared on monter-une-startup.
