Ferrari has revealed that an unprecedented short circuit within the control systems of its Formula 1 engine was the cause of Charles Leclerc’s problem in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Leclerc had looked on course to take his maiden F1 victory but slowed with just over 10 laps to go as his engine dropped a cylinder.
The lack of power allowed Lewis Hamilton to overtake Leclerc and go on to win, with Valtteri Bottas also getting past to take second.
Leclerc would have fallen away from third and behind Max Verstappen had Renault’s double failure not caused the race to end behind a safety car.
Ferrari flew the engine back to Maranello for a thorough inspection and has discovered that the issue was caused by a short circuit within an injection system control unit.
A statement from the team said: “This type of problem had never been seen before on the component in question.”
Ferrari is confident that the engine can return to action and that it intends to fit the powerunit into the car for the Chinese Grand Prix weekend.
Despite missing out on a first F1 win, Leclerc was positive about Ferrari rectifying the problem.
“We will work on the issue but I’m completely confident they will find what the issues are and they will be fixed for the future.”