Ferrari has found that the left side driveshaft hub that failed before the F1 Monaco GP was due to Charles Leclerc’s crash in qualifying.
What was feared on Sunday, came true on Monday, as after checks done at Maranello, Ferrari have found that Leclerc’s qualifying crash during F1 Monaco GP weekend, led to the driveshaft hub failure on the left hand side of the car, which disallowed him to race.
It wasn’t the side which was damaged in the crash, which is why Binotto stated that Ferrari did not check it. They also ruled out a gearbox failure after the F1 Monaco GP, which has been confirmed with the news, that the driveshaft failed due to qualifying crash.
Ferrari believes the impact on the right side was such, that, it may have had shaken up the left side too and their visible checks did not show any concerns. There were concerns about the gearbox, though, but they can use it still in Azerbaijan, if they wish to.
Pre-race, they had host of changes done on the right side, but none on the left. The data did not suggest any damage and so, they went ahead. On the lap to the grid, Leclerc slowed post Turn 6-7 sequence and complained of something not working.
He feared it to be the gearbox, but Ferrari examined it to be a problem on the left rear, which they later confirmed it to be the driveshaft hub. The Italian outfit noted that such failures are not common, especially after the impact of the crash on the right side.
Going forward, though, they will adopt some procedural changes and be more robust in their checks to avoid such mistakes, as shared with permanent media, including F1, Motorsport Network, BBC, Racefans and more.
Here’s what Mattia Binotto and Charles Leclerc said after Monaco GP