Leclerc says engine issue caused Sao Paulo GP demise

Charles Leclerc believes his dramatic crash on the formation lap of Sunday’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix was caused by an engine issue.

The Ferrari driver lined up alongside poleman Max Verstappen on the grid before the field set off for its formation lap. But as the leading cars reached Interlagos’ Turn 6, Leclerc spun and veered off into the barriers.

A devastated Leclerc radioed in to signal to his team that he had “lost the hydraulics”, meaning that without any power-steering, he was a passenger as the SF-23 went off at a tangent in the wide Ferradura corner.

On the replay, a puff of smoke was seen at the rear of the Ferrari just before the car’s rear axle locked up and propelled Leclerc off course and into the barrier.

• Read also: Verstappen beats Norris after crash-strewn start in Sao Paulo

A little later in the media pen, Leclerc suggested that his misfortune had most likely been caused by an engine problem, with the hydraulics failure a consequence of the former.

“When I lost the steering wheel, I went straight basically because I had no hydraulics anymore,” he told Sky F1.

“I don’t think it’s a hydraulic problem. I mean, I know what it is. I cannot go too much into detail.

“Then there was an engine thing that made me lock the rear wheels and then obviously I spun and hit the wall. I couldn’t do anything.”

Asked if the breakdown was similar to the hydraulics issue faced by Scuderi teammate Carlos Sainz in FP1 in Mexico, Leclerc reckoned his problem was “completely different”.

When the race was red flagged, Sainz expressed his frustration on the radio over his poor launch off the grid, and blamed a clutch problem.

Leclerc said that he had not experienced anything of the sort on his side.

“I was happy with my car, we are changing the settings in between cars from weekend to weekend,” he explained.

“I think he was unhappy with what they’ve done on their side of the garage but I’m on my side it was all good.”

Leclerc was able to back his car out of the barrier and rejoin the track, albeit with a broken front wing. But he was eventually forced to park his SF-23 up an escape road and abandon his mount.

It's worth noting that both Ferrari-powered Alfa Romeo cars retired early from Sunday's race, although it's know if the DNF's were power unit related.

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter