Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto are both facing grid penalties (Image: Getty)
, and, critically, are in line for grid penalties at the .
Leclerc’s running in FP1 alongside his brother, Arthur, was limited as the engineers toiled away at a problem with his SF-24 machine. As a result, the Monegasque racer has taken a new energy store, and therefore a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race.
This is a disaster for ‘s hopes of securing the Constructors’ Championship title. They trail by 21 points heading into the weekend and will need both Leclerc and fighting at the front to have a chance of beating the Woking squad to the crown.
Charles Leclerc has also been hit with a huge penalty in a setback to Ferrari (Image: Getty)
Leclerc isn’t the only driver facing a grid penalty. Both Williams drivers will be starting five places further back after the Grove-based team fixed new gearboxes to their FW46 machines.
Colapinto will be desperate to register a strong result in what could be his final F1 start. The Argentinian racer made an immediate impression, scoring points in two of his first four Grands Prix.
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However, since then Colapinto’s form has taken a hit, and retirements in Brazil and Qatar have limited his impact in Williams’ Constructors’ Championship battle. The 21-year-old’s hopes for a full-time drive in 2025 now rest solely with a seat, but Isack Hadjar is also in that conversation.
A move to , however, seems out of the question. “He, for sure, is a talent that’s looking to earn his permanent place in Formula One,” explained in Qatar. “We have a great pool of talent within the junior team. I’m sure Franco will find his way onto the grid in the future.”
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As for Williams, there is little to play for heading into the final round of the campaign, with the Grove-based team now effectively locked into P9 in the Constructors’ Championship. Avoiding unnecessary crash damage will be the key aim in Abu Dhabi.
“You’d expect three large accidents, maybe, at the upper end, in a year,” explained team principal James Vowles after the race in Qatar. “Yet we’re here looking at 17 accidents, total, in 23 races.”