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Leclerc may face automatic grid penalty at Canadian GP / Photo: © AFP
Leclerc may face automatic grid penalty at Canadian GP
Charles Leclerc's bid to re-boot his title challenge suffered a blow on Friday when Ferrari confirmed he may face a 10-place grid penalty for this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix.
The 24-year-old Monegasque has gone from early season championship leader to third, 34 points adrift of Red Bull's world champion Max Verstappen, despite taking pole position at the last four races before Sunday's race in Montreal.
Ferrari said on Friday the power unit which failed while he was leading last Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix had been damaged beyond repair and declared a write-off.
It is his second power failure of the year.
Leclerc has used two of his permitted three engines so far this season, but had taken the maximum three turbo-chargers before a penalty is applied.
He said on Friday the team were discussing their options for this weekend's race, adding that Montreal was "not a bad place to take a penalty" because overtaking is relatively easy.
The team may try to use parts of previously-used engines to avoid the problem immediately, but know that a new turbo-charger would mean an automatic 10-place grid penalty.
D. Meier--BTZ
