The long-run F1 data that offers Ferrari hope in Canada

Max Verstappen headed both Canadian Grand Prix practice sessions, as Charles Leclerc faces a 10-place grid penalty after his Baku blowout. Although those signs point to Red Bull dominating the Formula 1 proceedings in Montreal, Ferrari can bring itself into play if it can deliver on the promise of its long runs.

Alex Kalinauckas Jun 18, 2022, 9:34 AM

Upd: Jul 7, 2023, 6:28 PM

It was always going to happen. After Charles Leclerc’s smoky end to last week’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix and with Ferrari discovering that the engine he’d been running there was left “beyond repair”, future grid penalties for taking new parts was inevitable.

And it’s happening immediately at this weekend’s race in Montreal, with Leclerc set to drop at least 10 places for taking a third control electronics element of the 2022 campaign. That could become more (a back row start) if Ferrari opts to add further new parts to his engine pool, which may be wise given the power train that failed in Baku was a mix of ageing and newer parts – including the internal combustion engine running when a turbo and MGU-H failed while he was dominating in Spain.

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Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.