Sauber broke Formula 1’s curfew in order to ready a new chassis for Marcus Ericsson at Monza, following his violent accident on Friday.
Ericsson speared into the barriers under braking for the Rettifilo Chicane during the opening stages of FP2 when his DRS failed to reattach properly.
The front end of Ericsson’s C37 sustained heavy damage in the initial impact, after which the trajectory sent the car into a series of rolls and somersaults.
Ericsson was uninjured in the accident and has been cleared to participate in the remainder of the weekend’s action by the FIA Medical Delegate.
“The accident I had in FP2 was a big impact – thanks to the strength of the car I am alright,” said Ericsson.
Sauber confirmed that the DRS issue was also detected on Charles Leclerc’s car and that the problem was repaired.
“There was a problem with his DRS, which stayed open when he hit the brakes at Turn 1,” said Team Principal Frederic Vasseur on Ericsson’s off.
“We detected the same issue on Charles’ car shortly after that, and brought it back to the garage immediately to resolve the problem.”
Teams are permitted to break the curfew twice during the season, with this instance the first time Sauber has transgressed.
The curfew overnight Friday/Saturday runs from 01:00 to 09:00.
