Carlos Sainz admits that there is a possibility of him taking an engine penalty at the French Grand Prix. Ferrari were again affected by reliability issues last time out in Austria when smoke began billowing from the back of Sainz's F1-75 on Lap 57 of 71, just as he had been chasing down Max Verstappen for second place. Sainz was forced to pull off the track as marshals worked to put out the flames on his car.
Sainz could take a penalty at French GP
Should Ferrari opt to fit Sainz's car with new engine components for the French Grand Prix, there is a chance of the driver having to take a penalty, as he is close to the limit of allocated parts per season. This means that the Scuderia may consider whether to do this at Circuit Paul Ricard and incur a penalty sooner rather than later, or instead opt to use older parts already used earlier in the campaign. Speaking to media, including RacingNews365.com , Sainz was asked whether a decision had yet been taken on changing his engine in France. "Not yet, but there's a chance they will put a new engine [in] this weekend [which] would involve a penalty," he explained. "But we haven't taken the final decision." When pressed further on whether it would be better to take the penalty in France rather than at the next race on the calendar in Hungary, Sainz coyly responded: "Yes, or no."
Ferrari face decision over penalty
This is not the first time in 2022 that Ferrari have had to assess the best point at which to take a penalty. Charles Leclerc was handed a grid drop at the Canadian Grand Prix in June due to the team deciding to change his power unit for the event. Engine problems had forced Leclerc to retire from the lead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix one week earlier, and Sainz also recorded a DNF at the race due to similar issues.
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