Charles Leclerc is set to miss the second free practice session for the 2025 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix after his earlier crash in FP1.
The Ferrari driver locked up into Turn 3, taking to the grass and clipping the inside wall with his front left tyre before ending up in the wall at Turn 4.
His badly damaged SF-25 was stricken across the track as his session came to an abrupt end, not an ideal start to his weekend in Montreal.
In the Team Principal’s Press Conference after FP1, Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur suggested the wreckage could prevent the 27-year-old from running again on Friday.
“When I left the garage, we think that we damaged the chassis, and by the way, we won’t be able to do FP2 by regulation,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“We need to do some checks but I think it’s a rough afternoon for Charles.”
Ahead of FP2, Ferrari confirmed that Leclerc would miss the session: “Due to the damage to his car sustained in the crash in FP1, Charles Leclerc will not take part in FP2, as the survival cell on his SF-25 needs to be replaced. As per the regulations, Charles will be able to drive in FP3.”
His team-mate Lewis Hamilton ended the session in fifth place whilst Leclerc slipped back down to 10th in the order after initially topping the timing sheets.
Ferrari heads into this race weekend after climbing into second place in the Constructors’ Standings with a podium finish at the Spanish Grand Prix, courtesy of Leclerc.
The Prancing Horse still trails its rivals McLaren by 197 points after the opening nine rounds of the season.
Vasseur optimistic ahead of Canadian GP
Reminded of the fact that it didn’t go well for the Scuderia at this track last year, Vasseur initially joked: “At least we won’t do worse than because last year it was the double DNF.”
However, the Frencham was optimistic that it could be a decent race weekend for Ferrari despite its struggles at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve last season.
“The pace this morning was okay for Charles before the crash, and with Lewis it was okay also,” he expanded.
“We made a step, I think, if you compare to the first races, that now we came back [to] P2 [in the Constructors’ Standings], that we had, the last three or four weekends, strong pace.
“It was already the case at the beginning, but more on the race pace than the qualifying pace.
“Now I think we are able to put a little bit more everything together and to do a good weekend, but it’s still a long way compared to McLaren because they are still one step ahead and we have to keep McLaren as a target and not to have a look behind us, but we are on the right track.”
READ MORE – Fred Vasseur launches explosive response to ‘stupid’ Ferrari F1 rumours
Discussion about this post