Charles Leclerc Faces Canadian GP Problem After FP1 Crash Leaves Him Depending on Lewis Hamilton’s Information
Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc enters the Canadian Grand Prix weekend at a drawback 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 vital chassis harm.
The affect fractured the chassis of Leclerc’s Ferrari, which meant he was unable to take part in FP2. In keeping with stories, Ferrari weren’t granted FIA approval to rebuild the automobile 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 steered that Charles Leclerc might have been too formidable 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 selections 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 persistently extract peak one-lap efficiency from the SF-25 this season. To date, he trails Leclerc 7-2 in qualifying head-to-heads. Nevertheless, the extra urgent concern for Leclerc and Ferrari is race tempo — a division wherein 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 current battles with Williams, resembling 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 knowledge evaluation and setup revisions. Leclerc, regardless of being sidelined for many of Friday, is anticipated to shut the hole as soon as he’s again on observe, a development that has repeated all through the 2025 season. However, 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 annoyed 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 price noting that Lewis Hamilton hasn’t had issues completely go his manner. The British driver had requested a change to the automobile’s energy steering system to deal with a slight delay in response time, however Ferrari knowledgeable him that such a modification couldn’t be executed on quick discover. This additional underscores the restrictions 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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