Grid Penalty For Charles Leclerc Deals A Blow To Ferrari’s Hopes In F1 Constructors’ Title Race

A grid penalty for Charles Leclerc threatens to end Ferrari’s hopes of beating McLaren to the Formula 1 constructors’ title.

Ferrari said Friday the team had to change the battery pack on Leclerc’s car in the first practice session in Abu Dhabi. Ferrari said the team expects a 10-place penalty on the grid for Sunday’s race.

Leclerc was fastest in the first practice session by .221 of a second from McLaren’s Lando Norris, with Lewis Hamilton third fastest for Mercedes.

Leclerc’s brother Arthur took over Carlos Sainz Jr.’s car and was 18th. Teams have to give two practice sessions per season to younger and less experienced drivers.

McLaren goes into the race with a 21-point lead over Ferrari in the constructors’ standings.

Leclerc’s teammate Sainz said Thursday that he expected that either he or Leclerc would have to win the race in Abu Dhabi, with the other car also finishing on the podium, to have a chance of the title “unless something very disastrous happened” to McLaren.

Either McLaren or Ferrari will end a long wait for an F1 constructors title Sunday. McLaren hasn’t won the lucrative prize for teams since 1998 and Ferrari’s last win was in 2008.

Two of Formula 1’s top drivers are exchanging bitter personal attacks. All-time great Hamilton is bidding an emotional farewell to Mercedes. It’s all overshadowed the constructors’ title fight.

Despite Max Verstappen wrapping up his fourth driver title in Las Vegas two weeks ago, the Red Bull star is still the center of attention for a feud with George Russell of Mercedes.

Russell branded Verstappen “a bully” and accused him of threatening behavior following a dispute between the two in qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix last week. Verstappen was pushed off pole position in Qatar in favor of Russell, and has said his rival lied to get him a penalty.

Verstappen is aiming for his 10th race win of the season in Abu Dhabi. That’s an impressive feat by most drivers’ standards but not for Verstappen, who won 15 races in 2022 and topped it with 19 last year.

The whole weekend in Abu Dhabi will be a long goodbye for Hamilton as he leaves Mercedes, where he won six of his seven titles, and joins Ferrari for 2025.

Hamilton is driving in Abu Dhabi with the names of 150 fans on his car as part of a “Thank you, Lewis” campaign by Mercedes.

The move to Ferrari was announced before the season began and Hamilton admitted Thursday the prolonged farewell has been much more of a strain on his emotions than he expected. Hamilton is out of form and was pessimistic about finishing on a high after penalties and a puncture marred his race in Qatar.

Hamilton’s move to Ferrari shocked F1 when it was announced in February, and it set off a chain reaction of driver moves elsewhere.

Next year F1 will have its largest influx of young drivers in years as established names switch teams or leave the grid.

One of the new faces is on the grid in Abu Dhabi after Alpine opted to give Jack Doohan an early taste of F1. He replaces Esteban Ocon for the last race of the season. Doohan, a 21-year-old Australian, is the son of motorcycle racing great Mick Doohan. He was 19th fastest in the first practice session Friday.