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 an obstacle after a pricey crash in Friday’s FP1 session left him with minimal operating and totally 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 obstacles and sustaining important chassis harm.
The influence fractured the chassis of Leclerc’s Ferrari, which meant he was unable to take part in FP2. In response to studies, 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 required repairs earlier than the tip of Friday’s operating. Analyst Karun Chandhok recommended that Charles Leclerc might have been too bold in making an attempt to get better 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 compelled 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 troublesome 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 a lot 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. To this point, 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 presently sit on the backside of the constructors’ standings. It’s a troubling indicator contemplating Ferrari’s latest battles with Williams, equivalent to in Miami, the place the Scuderia may 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 get better efficiency in a single day by way of 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 pattern that has repeated all through the 2025 season. However, he faces a steep climb if he hopes to increase his podium streak to a few consecutive races.
Stories 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 assemble significant knowledge for each automobiles.
It’s additionally price noting that Lewis Hamilton hasn’t had issues solely go his manner. The British driver had requested a change to the automobile’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 quick discover. This additional underscores the restrictions each drivers are dealing with 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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