Charles Leclerc’s chances of winning his home race from pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix are over after he pulled out shortly before the start Sunday because of a gearbox problem.
Leclerc damaged the gearbox when crashing 18 seconds from the end of Saturday's qualifying. He risked a five-place grid penalty if the gearbox was changed, but Ferrari said earlier Sunday he could race with it.
About 20 minutes before the race was scheduled to start at 3 pm local time, Ferrari issued the bad news home fans were dreading. “Charles will not start the race due to an issue with the left driveshaft which is impossible to fix in time," Ferrari said in a statement.