Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari have made "the best decision" by accepting a 10-place grid penalty for the Canadian Grand Prix.
Leclerc will start towards the back of the grid in Montreal after taking a new control electronic – his third used this season.
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The Monegasque had little choice given the state of his power unit after the Azerbaijan GP, although it could have been the source of some frustration after he finished just 0.081 seconds behind Max Verstappen in FP2.
"Well, obviously I'm starting a little bit more in the back," Leclerc said. "But I think it was the best decision to make, so let's see how it goes.
"The overtaking was a little bit more difficult than I expected today, but the pace is there, so hopefully we can come back to where we want to be."
UPDATE: A new Control Electronic has been fitted to Charles’ car prior to FP2. It is the third of these elements used so far this season - only 2 are permitted - therefore Charles takes a grid penalty. #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/90QUji6gKx
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) June 17, 2022
Indeed, despite championship leader Verstappen topping the charts in both Friday practice sessions, Leclerc added: "It is pretty close.
"The race pace we need to work on – I mean it's a bit difficult to have a clear picture, because I was on a different compound all the time – but overall, it didn't look too bad, so that's good."