Charles Leclerc has provided a brief update on the status of Ferrari's power unit that was damaged in his dramatic crash at the Italian Grand Prix. The Monegasque revealed that the team is still assessing whether the engine can be saved, and if not, a grid penalty is a likely consequence.
The incident at Parabolica robbed Leclerc of the chance to use the upgraded power unit in race trim. The engine was subsequently removed, and an older specification was fitted for the race at the MADring.
"For now, of what I know, they're still checking it; we'll see," Leclerc told the media. "I don't know yet. If we manage to save it, then that's great. If not, then probably that's a penalty at some point."
Beyond the reliability concern, Leclerc highlighted a more structural issue: Ferrari's qualifying pace lags behind its race pace. He believes this gap is costing the team on Sundays before the race even starts.
"For sure, I think our car is a strong race car, but we just need to try and understand how to unlock more performance in qualifying," he said. Leclerc traced the deficit to how the power unit deploys energy over a single lap versus a race stint. "We know that deployment is even more of a struggle, I feel, on a Saturday than on a Sunday, and for that, we don't have any quick fixes," he added.
He stressed that even marginal gains would matter: "But whatever we can do to try and gain a bit of performance on the Saturday would be very helpful for our race result."
Taken together, the comments describe a team secure in its race-day package but still searching for answers over one lap—a gap that, compounded by a possible grid penalty, could blunt Ferrari's ability to convert Sunday strength into results.
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