Ferrari double-retired in a dream to give Max Verstappen and Red Bull another great opportunity at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Ferrari claimed the polar position by Charles Leklerk on Saturday, finishing fourth by Carlos Science, but both of its cars were knocked out within 20 laps of Sunday’s race.
Science retired from fourth place in Lab 9, after which the team confirmed that it was a hydraulic issue.
Leklerk was defeated by Red Bull’s Sergio Perez for Turn 1, but both Perez and Verstappen had a different strategy, stopping just in time under the virtual safety car.
When smoke billowed from the back of his Ferrari in the Lap 20, any chance of a fantastic fight for Leclerc was thwarted.
Leklerk immediately returned to the pits and parked the car, confirming that the Ferrari power unit was the problem.
“It hurts,” Leklerk told Sky Sports shortly after his race ended. “We need to see it happen again. I do not have the right words to describe it. It’s very disappointing. We need to see it.”
Ferrari saw both customer cars fail, with Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Cho and Hasin’s Kevin Magnussen retiring in the middle of the race.
Before racing again at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, the team has only seven days to figure out its problems.
Leklerk was already nine points behind Verstappen in the championship. Verstappen was in the lead at the race and was on the fast lap when Leklerk’s race ended.
If Perez finishes second, he will overtake Leklerk in the championship standings.
Leklerk’s once-promising season has plummeted in recent races. At the Monaco Grand Prix, in his own race, a Ferrari tactical victory turned into fourth place.
Despite winning six polar spots from eight races this year, Leklerk has turned only two of them into victories – his last season at the Australian Grand Prix took place on April 10.
Credibility issues at the start of the season were the Red Bull problem. Verstappen’s car failed to finish two of the first three races and was 47 points behind Dutchman Leklerk after the Melbourne race.
