FIA stewards explain Leclerc’s five-second penalty in F1 Mexico GP
by Ben Vinel · AutosportCharles Leclerc was penalised for overtaking Lewis Hamilton off the track, but he still benefitted from the manoeuvre
The FIA stewards have explained the reasoning behind Charles Leclerc’s five-second penalty in Formula 1’s Mexico Grand Prix.
Leclerc was starting the race from third at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez with team-mate Lewis Hamilton on pole position; as George Russell dropped like a stone in the second phase of the start, the Ferraris went wheel to wheel for the lead.
Hamilton narrowly retained the advantage in the first section of corners, but going into Turn 4, Leclerc was ahead at the apex; Hamilton still gave him little to no space and the Monegasque went off into the lead.
Leclerc failed to return the position by Turn 12, which guidelines discussed in the drivers’ briefing had made a clear requirement – and which would have cost him two spots, with Verstappen jumping ahead of Hamilton then.
It was unclear whether Leclerc could have stayed on the track; stewards believe he wouldn’t have, so they gave him a penalty – but only five seconds, due to mitigating circumstances.
“The Stewards have determined that both cars entered Turn 4 with excessive speed and therefore neither would have been able to make the corner on track, as demonstrated by the fact that car 44, which was on the inside had to go off track to make the corner,” the stewards’ report read.
“Car 16 was therefore not entitled to claim the corner due to the excessive entry speed. The driver then completed an overtake whilst off track and accordingly this warrants a penalty.
“The baseline penalty guideline is 10 seconds, however in mitigation is the fact that car 44 was also off track on the inside of car 16 and this occurred early in the first lap.”
Leclerc retaining the lead allowed him to pull clear of his rivals, creating a five-second gap to Verstappen.
The stewards’ decision therefore proved unpopular with the seven-time world champion, who was keen to see his team-mate more harshly penalised.
“The problem is he's got clean air, and doesn't have to manage like the rest of us. He should just give the place back,” Hamilton said. A few laps later, he doubled down: “The stewards are basically handing Charles this win.”
Leclerc still lost the virtual lead to Verstappen when both drivers executed their first pitstops, with Red Bull swiftly reacting to the Ferrari crew in order to avoid being undercut.
The race is currently red-flagged on lap 46 after Valtteri Bottas crashed out due to what looked like a suspension failure. Verstappen leads from Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli; Hamilton pitted under the safety car moments before the red flag was waved and dropped down to fourth.
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