Charles Leclerc is hopeful that Ferrari will be able to save the upgraded engine involved in his huge accident at the Italian Grand Prix.
On Lap 2 at Monza, Leclerc crashed heavily at Parabolica, destroying the Ferrari and triggering a red flag.
The Monegasque was running Ferrari's new ADUO-upgraded engine for the first time at the team's home track, but it was then not in the car for the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid one week later as engineers continue to evaluate the unit to see if it can be used once again.
If it is damaged beyond repair, Leclerc will be forced to take a new example of the ADUO-boosted design, and will thus incur a grid penalty for exceeding his allocation of power unit components.
But he is hopeful this will not prove to be the case.
"For now, of what I know, they're still checking it; we'll see," Leclerc told media, including RacingNews365, when asked for an update on the unit.
"I mean, 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."
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Leclerc knows where Ferrari must improve its engine
Turning to the Ferrari engine overall, Leclerc felt that the Scuderia needed to make improvements to its one-lap performance in qualifying to help set-up better race-day results.
"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.
"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.
"But whatever we can do to try and gain a bit of performance on the Saturday would be very helpful for our race result."
Originally published by RacingNews365 —
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