Leclerc's suspicions confirmed: "Chassis must be replaced before the race"

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22:01, 20 Nov 2021

byGPblog.com

Ferrari will change Charles Leclerc's chassis after it suffered a crack during qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix. With that, the Monegasque can add another setback to the list after failing to progress to Q3.

The Ferrari driver endured an unusually poor qualifying session at the Losail International Circuit, in which he failed to finish above 13th place in Q2. Teammate Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, qualified seventh.

Leclerc could not explain disappointing qualification

Afterwards, Leclerc wasn't sure why he was struggling so much. He did see that it had to be something big, because he couldn't explain the big difference. His suspicions were confirmed when Ferrari checked his car and discovered a crack in the chassis of the SF21.

"When Leclerc's car was checked, a crack was found in the chassis," Ferrari said in a statement on the official website of the team.

"This is probably the result of driving over the kerbs during the first run in Q1. It will now have to be replaced."

Leclerc himself is certainly not giving up. "I think everything is possible. We have free choice of tyres, so hopefully we can take advantage of that," the Ferrari driver said.

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	51
2	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	47
3	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	34
4	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	33
5	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	17
6	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	15
7	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	9
8	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	8
9	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	8
10	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	4
11	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	4
12	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	3
13	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	2
14	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
15	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	1
16	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	0
17	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
18	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	0
19	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
20	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
21	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	0
22	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0

Leclerc's suspicions confirmed: "Chassis must be replaced before the race"

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