Leclerc to continue with Bahrain power unit in China

Ferrari has confirmed Charles Leclerc will not require a new power unit for next weekend's Chinese Grand Prix despite a cylinder failure on his engine that cost him victory in Bahrain.

Leclerc was almost 10 seconds clear of the field before an issue with 15 laps to go caused him to slow, allowing Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas to pass in the closing stages of the race.

Ferrari confirmed in the aftermath of the race that a cylinder had failed on Leclerc's engine, with the team waiting until it returned to Maranello before giving a more precise diagnosis.

A short bulletin issued by Ferrari on Friday confirmed that Leclerc would not be forced to change power unit for China, leaving his allocation of parts for the season unaffected.

"Charles Leclerc will use the same power unit in China that he used for the Bahrain Grand Prix. The unit will be duly fitted on the number 16 car, in which the Monegasque driver had to settle for third place having led the race in style until a few laps from the flag," Ferrari confirmed.

"Following the race, the Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow technicians and engineers traced the fault on the car to a short circuit within an injection system control unit.

"This type of problem had never been seen before on the component in question."