Why Ferrari could pick Baku for Leclerc's grid penalty

The news follows Leclerc's high-profile second-lap crash at Parabolica during Ferrari's home Italian Grand Prix on September 6.

Ferrari had just introduced its second power unit upgrade under the FIA's ADUO scheme and was forced to revert to the previous unit at the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid where Leclerc finished fourth.

However, following the event, team principal Fred Vasseur admitted the ADUO2 unit would need to be replaced despite an earlier understanding that it was recoverable from the crash.

On Canal+ he said: "We'll see when we have to take an engine penalty with Charles, but I think Baku should be quite suitable."

Leclerc himself also acknowledged the situation, commenting: "If not, I'll probably get a penalty at some point."

GPblog understands that Ferrari will further evaluate the power unit before confirming any changes in Baku.

The choice of Baku comes as little surprise with the street circuit one of the season's best for overtaking.

Ferrari will hope to replicate Mercedes to some extend who mastered such a situation in Monza where Leclerc crashed.

Kimi Antonelli was sent to the back of the grid due to a power unit change but ended up winning the race in stunning scenes due to the numerous overtaking opportunities at the high-speed circuit.

Running the older ADUO-1 specification in Madrid after Ferrari withdrew the Monza unit from Leclerc's allocation came at a tangible cost, as GPblog reported at the time.

The new specification is reported to be worth about two-tenths of a second per lap over the ADUO-1 engine Leclerc used in Spain. Despite that deficit, the two Ferrari drivers finished only 0.006 seconds apart in qualifying because Leclerc recovered almost all of the gap through the corners during a difficult weekend for teammate Lewis Hamilton.