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 totally reliant on teammate Lewis Hamilton’s telemetry and information. 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 vital chassis harm.
The influence fractured the chassis of Leclerc’s Ferrari, which meant he was unable to take part in FP2. In line with 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 working. Analyst Karun Chandhok prompt that Charles Leclerc could have been too formidable in attempting to recuperate the nook after the lock-up, finally paying the worth for that optimism.
With solely a handful of laps accomplished, Leclerc has been pressured to look at from the storage and can now depend on information 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. Up to now, he trails Leclerc 7-2 in qualifying head-to-heads. Nonetheless, the extra urgent concern for Leclerc and Ferrari is race tempo — a division wherein the group 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, corresponding to 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 means of information 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.
Studies have circulated suggesting the Monegasque could also be annoyed with the elevated consideration Lewis Hamilton is receiving from Ferrari engineers. Nonetheless, given the circumstances, the group has had no alternative however to prioritize Hamilton’s enter to assemble significant information for each automobiles.
It’s additionally value noting that Lewis Hamilton hasn’t had issues fully go his approach. 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 brief discover. This additional underscores the constraints each drivers are dealing with because the group 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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