Abu Dhabi, Dec 6 (IANS): Charles Leclerc has been hit with a 10-place grid penalty for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after the Ferrari driver took on a new energy store, a bitter blow to the team's hopes in the constructors' battle with McLaren.

With Ferrari needing to outscore the papaya team by 22 points this weekend, maintaining that performance will be crucial for the 27-year-old.

The Monegasque driver was forced to wait in the pits for the first 20 minutes of FP1 in Abu Dhabi while Ferrari dealt with a suspected battery issue on his car – he thankfully did get the opportunity to drive on track with his younger brother, Arthur Leclerc.

However, in order to fix the problem, he has now exceeded the allocation of two energy stores per season and must serve the grid drop, which will force him into a massive recovery drive if Ferrari want to keep their championship hopes alive.

The Maranello outfit are just 21 points behind McLaren in the battle to be constructors' champion but will need to have a near-perfect weekend in order to maximise their hopes, with the expected penalty set to be a massive spanner in the works.

"The energy store used by Charles Leclerc is the third (3rd) of the two (2) new energy stores allowed for the 2024 Championship season and this is not in conformity with Article 28.2 of the 2024 Formula One Sporting Regulations," read a document issued shortly before the end of FP1 at the Yas Marina Circuit.

It was soon confirmed after the session that Leclerc would indeed be hit with the 10-place penalty for the breach.

Leclerc demonstrated strong pace in the first practice session despite his delay in getting out on track as he topped the timesheets with a margin of 0.221s to McLaren's Lando Norris.