Ferrari reveals the origin of Leclerc’s engine problems

Charles Leclerc was not far from victory this weekend. While the Monegasque driver led almost the entire race, he was overtaken by a Lewis Hamilton on a mission to reclaim the lead with 3 laps to go and had to settle for second place.

However, the Scuderia’s driver could have never reached the finish line. On the 15th lap, his team as well as all the tifosi prayed as hard as they could for Leclerc’s engine to hold, as it was cutting out at times. Fortunately for the Maranello team, these issues only lasted a few moments.

On Sky Sports’ microphone, Mattia Binotto, the director of Scuderia Ferrari, revealed the origin of these cutouts. According to the Italian, they would come from faulty fuel management.

« We need to look at this carefully, it was related to fuel management. We were able to solve this problem by adjusting settings on the steering wheel. Then [Leclerc] had other cuts towards the end of the race, and we were able to manage without it affecting his pace, he asserted.

As Leclerc was struggling with his engine issues, Lewis Hamilton was following him and slowly catching up, without actually threatening or overtaking him. Binotto believes that the British driver was preserving his tires as he had been suffering from blistering throughout the weekend.

(English translation) « I think that behind, Lewis was managing his tires in the fast corners. He could have been much faster but he was worried about blistering. And he knew he could catch up with us at the end of the race. He was just waiting for the right moment. “», he estimates.

With his second place, Charles Leclerc consolidates his lead over his teammate, Carlos Sainz, and is in 6th position in the championship. The Monegasque was also awarded the title of “driver of the day” after his excellent race at Silverstone.