The clunking sound of Charles Leclerc's Sauber as he pulled off to the side of the track Saturday morning was ominous, and the Swiss outfit has confirmed its driver's car will need a gearbox change.
The failure occurred after Leclerc had just left the pitlane in the final stages of free practice. As the component had not reached its required six consecutive-race limit, the issue will mean a five-spot demotion for the Monegasque on Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix grid.
The Sauber crew was hard an hour before qualifying at work to replace the gearbox in time for the all-important afternoon session.
Team boss Fred Vasseur was confident however that Leclerc's C37 would be up and running in time for the start of quali.
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