Charles Leclerc Faces Canadian GP Problem After FP1 Crash Leaves Him Depending on Lewis Hamilton’s Knowledge
Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc enters the Canadian Grand Prix weekend at an obstacle after a expensive crash in Friday’s FP1 session left him with minimal working and absolutely reliant on teammate Lewis Hamilton’s telemetry and knowledge. The Monegasque misplaced management of his SF-25 at Flip 3 early within the session, locking up closely earlier than sliding into the limitations and sustaining important chassis injury.
The impression fractured the chassis of Leclerc’s Ferrari, which meant he was unable to take part in FP2. Based on experiences, Ferrari weren’t granted FIA approval to rebuild the automotive till the next day, and even with permission, the mechanics wouldn’t have had enough time to finish the mandatory repairs earlier than the top of Friday’s working. Analyst Karun Chandhok prompt that Charles Leclerc could have been too bold in making an attempt to recuperate the nook after the lock-up, in the end paying the value for that optimism.
With solely a handful of laps accomplished, Leclerc has been pressured to watch from the storage and can now depend on knowledge collected by Hamilton to make essential setup choices heading into qualifying and the race. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has historically been a tough venue for Charles Leclerc; since becoming a member of Ferrari, he has solely certified larger than tenth in Montreal as soon as.
Hamilton’s Efficiency in FP2 Raises Questions for Ferrari and Leclerc
Lewis Hamilton didn’t fare significantly better throughout FP2, putting ninth and clocking in over half a second slower than George Russell, who led the session for Mercedes. Extra regarding was the truth that Hamilton was additionally outpaced by each Williams drivers and Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin.
Lewis Hamilton, now 40, has struggled to constantly extract peak one-lap efficiency from the SF-25 this season. Up to now, he trails Leclerc 7-2 in qualifying head-to-heads. Nevertheless, the extra urgent concern for Leclerc and Ferrari is race tempo — a division during which the crew has proven worrying indicators.
As famous by Auto Motor und Sport, Ferrari’s long-run tempo left a lot to be desired in Montreal, with Hamilton once more being outperformed not solely by the Williams duo but additionally by Pierre Gasly within the Alpine. That comparability is especially painful given Alpine at present sit on the backside of the constructors’ standings. It’s a troubling indicator contemplating Ferrari’s latest battles with Williams, reminiscent of in Miami, the place the Scuderia might solely handle seventh and eighth place.
Ferrari Deny Hamilton’s Request for Steering Adjustment Forward of Montreal Race
Amid the struggles, Ferrari are hoping to recuperate efficiency in a single day by way of knowledge evaluation and setup revisions. Leclerc, regardless of being sidelined for many of Friday, is predicted to shut the hole as soon as he’s again on observe, a pattern that has repeated all through the 2025 season. Nonetheless, he faces a steep climb if he hopes to increase his podium streak to 3 consecutive races.
Experiences have circulated suggesting the Monegasque could also be pissed off with the elevated consideration Lewis Hamilton is receiving from Ferrari engineers. Nevertheless, given the circumstances, the crew has had no selection however to prioritize Hamilton’s enter to collect significant knowledge for each vehicles.
It’s additionally value noting that Lewis Hamilton hasn’t had issues totally go his method. The British driver had requested a change to the automotive’s energy steering system to handle a slight delay in response time, however Ferrari knowledgeable him that such a modification couldn’t be executed on brief discover. This additional underscores the constraints each drivers are going through because the crew makes an attempt to remain aggressive in what’s shaping as much as be a tightly contested Canadian Grand Prix weekend.
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