Ferrari says it must undertake a thorough assessment of Charles Leclerc’s power unit before deciding whether it can be used again across the final two events of 2019.
Leclerc’s car suffered an oil leak during his out-lap in Saturday’s third practice session at the United States Grand Prix, and Ferrari reverted to an older engine – already in his pool – thereafter.
Leclerc went on to qualify and finish fourth at the Circuit of the Americas as Ferrari struggled for overall performance, finishing off the podium for the first time since May’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Leclerc, as with the other front-runners, has reached his allocation of permitted 2019 power unit components, and will face a penalty if a fresh engine is required.
“It was not down [on power] by quite a lot, it was slightly down,” said Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto of the engine Leclerc used for qualifying and the race.
“It is what we are expecting between an upgrade of engines, it was power unit two and not the third [specification] we introduced in Monza.
“It [the damaged component] will be shipped back to Maranello, we had an extended oil leakage, not clear where it was coming from.
“We need to analyse it and understand where it’s coming from and eventually decide whether it is still to be used or not.”
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