Charles Leclerc makes surprising admission on new Ferrari engine after penalty talk in Baku

Charles Leclerc made a surprise admission regarding his Ferrari power unit after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, revealing that he had used the new spec upgrade the team produced under the ADUO system during Saturday's race.

This was a surprise because that power unit had not been available to Leclerc at the Spanish Grand Prix the race prior due to his big crash at the Italian Grand Prix, where the upgrade was first delivered.

In fact, in the build-up to the race in Baku, the talk had been that the Monegasque driver could even take a grid penalty so that he could fit new components to his power unit, rather than once again using the old spec one that he had driven with in Madrid.

“Well, Kimi went from last to first [in Monza]. So I don’t know if that’s realistic for us if we will have to take the penalty," Leclerc said ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. "But as of now, it [his Monza engine] is in the pool of our engines that we can use.

“I won’t go too much into the detail on what’s the plan and what engine we will use or not, because that’s still something strategic for us and we don’t want to give that away. But it’s definitely back in the pool of engines that we can use, so that’s a good thing.”

Ferrari chief Fred Vasseur had also told Canal+ in Madrid: "We’ll see when we have to take an engine penalty with Charles, but I think Baku should be quite suitable.”

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Charles Leclerc used upgraded Ferrari power unit in Azerbaijan

The team kept their plans under wraps until post-race in Azerbaijan after what was another disappointing day for the team.

Leclerc qualified second on Friday but was just shy of eight and a half tenths adrift of pole-sitter George Russell, while he went backwards in the race, missing out on the podium with a P4 finish.

Leclerc looked particularly vulnerable down the straights at times, but as it turns out, it wasn't because he had the old Ferrari engine in his car.

When speaking to Italian broadcast media post-race, Leclerc confirmed he had used the new upgraded power unit in Baku.

"I had the latest specification," Leclerc confirmed, much to the bemusement of his Ferrari press officer, who looked surprised he had revealed the information.

"I don’t know if I’m saying something I wasn’t supposed to say but I thought you knew."

In positive news for Leclerc, although Ferrari were down on power on the straights, the fact he used the new spec engine without any penalties means his power unit from Monza was salvageable.

Whether or not he does have to take any penalties further down the line this season remains to be seen.

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton calls for Ferrari investigation after Azerbaijan Grand Prix flop

READ MORE: Lando Norris calls for FIA bans after Azerbaijan GP crash: 'Not driving that deserves to be in F1'

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