Disaster strikes Ferrari as Charles Leclerc set to take 10-place grid penalty for the F1 Abu Dhabi GP
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc will take a 10-place grid penalty for the main race on Sunday, December 8, at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It was a positive start to the weekend for the Monagasque driver as he topped the FP1 session from McLaren driver Lando Norris.
However, Leclerc was given the penalty by stewards after taking an additional battery pack for the main race. Having already used the allotted two for the season, the Italian team had no choice but to put a third one in Leclerc's SF-24 after he had a 30-minute delay to his FP1 session.
The penalty would be a huge blow to the ambitions of the Maranello outfit as they are currently 21 points behind McLaren in the Constructor's Championship heading into the season finale. They have failed to win a title in F1 since their constructor's triumph in 2008.
With Charles Leclerc's 10-place grid penalty, the task for both him and Carlos Sainz has become much tougher against the Woking-based outfit, who also have an opportunity to win their first title since 1998.
Despite the bad news, it was a special FP1 session for Leclerc as he shared the track with his younger brother Arthur in the same car.
Charles Leclerc gives his take on Arthur Leclerc's FP1 session in Abu Dhabi
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc stated that he just wanted his brother Arthur Leclerc to have a "good session" in FP1 at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Speaking with F1.com, the 27-year-old said:
“I just want him to have a good session. We spoke about it but he’s my brother – I don’t have to speak to him to know what he feels or what he thinks and I know he’s going to do a great job.
“He’s been exceptional on the simulator this year and he has helped us so much. It’s going to be a super good exercise to correlate that with the virtual laps he does quite often on the sim and it’s going to be a very special moment for him. So I hope everything will go well and I’m really happy.”
The significance of the moment was not lost on the eight-time race winner as he revealed the tough path to F1 for his younger brother and added:
“It’s very special because I also know the whole background of how did he get there, how did we get there. Obviously our parents have made a lot of sacrifices for both of us to pursue our dream.
"For my mum, she will be travelling here tomorrow to see the FP1 so it will be a very emotional moment, but I’m looking forward to it. He deserves it and I’m really happy for him.”
Arthur Leclerc finished his FP1 session in P18 and was 1.8s behind Charles Leclerc's time in P1.