Leclerc to test hybrid system for 2022 car

LONDON • Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will start Sunday's Russian Grand Prix from the back of the grid due to a change of power unit, the Italian Formula One team said on Wednesday.

Ferrari said they would be introducing an updated hybrid system in Sochi, mainly to gain experience with it for the 2022 car project.

"A great deal of effort has gone into this, both technically and logistically, and so as to be able to use it as soon as possible, its introduction will be staggered between the drivers," they added.

"Charles will be the first to have the new hybrid system. This decision is a precautionary measure relating to the potential risk of using the battery pack damaged in his Hungarian GP accident."

Ferrari also said a decision on Carlos Sainz's car would be made "following an evaluation of the right compromise between competitiveness and the impact of the penalty".

Separately, the Monaco Grand Prix will scrap its traditional rest day next year and hold practice on Friday like the other races on the calendar, according to Formula One boss Stefano Domenicali.

The Italian told CNN the schedule for one of the glamour highlights of the season would shrink to a conventional three-day format.

The iconic race, which was first run in 1929 and has been ever-present since the inception of the F1 world championship in 1950, has traditionally held practice on the Thursday with a day off on Friday before the race weekend, rather than simply running Friday to Sunday like the other events.

"Monaco will be three days, straight away," said Domenicali.

The move is likely due to the addition of Miami on May 8, making a record 23-race calendar with Monaco's street circuit likely to follow on from Spain. The condensed programme would make it easier logistically.

Monaco Grand Prix organisers said that while F1 will hold a three-day event, it would still be four days of action with support races being held on the Thursday.

Domenicali added that the 2022 calendar would be announced after a World Motor Sport Council meeting in Paris on Oct 15.

He would not confirm speculation about South Africa featuring in the calendar, with Kyalami hoping to make a return for the first time since 1993.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 24, 2021, with the headline Leclerc to test hybrid system for 2022 car. Subscribe