Leclerc 10-place grid drop expected for Canadian GP

Leclerc could face a grid drop for the Canadian GP.

Charles Leclerc's Canadian GP could be a damage limitation, as the Monegasque is expected to take a 10-place grid penalty at the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit. 

Leclerc suffered another reliability failure at last week's Azerbaijan GP, denying him the opportunity to fight for the victory and gifting the Red Bull pairing a relatively easy 1-2 finish. 

However, there were concerns that the retirement at Baku would have more significant consequences, given that the #16 was already on the legal limit of used turbo components going into the eighth round of the season.

#CanadaGP: Leclerc monterà PU3 tutta nuova, quindi il 4’ Turbo con penalità di 10 posizioni. @formu1a__uno #Ferrari #F1

— Giuliano Duchessa (@GiulyDuchessa) June 16, 2022

According to Italian journalist Giuly Duchessa, Ferrari has elected to change Leclerc's turbo for this weekend, which will result in a 10-place grid penalty. 

There was some speculation that the Scuderia would try to avoid such a penalty by using an earlier turbo component, preventing a sanction and - in theory - not suffering from a reliability failure. 

Ferrari has elected the safer decision, choosing to lower the risk of another retirement and taking the penalty this weekend. 

Regardless of how long Ferrari tries to postpone or delay a grid penalty, the reality is that the Italian squad will be mounting Leclerc's third power unit this weekend, meaning more penalties this season are inevitable. 

Ferrari's championship hopes are far from over, as Red Bull themselves have not been exempt from reliability issues this season. 

With that said, the Scuderia cannot allow any further retirements; they risk Red Bull's championship lead becoming too vast to recover from.