Charles Leclerc hit with 20-second penalty after FIA investigation

Charles Leclerc has dropped to eighth at the Miami Grand Prix after the FIA confirmed a post-race drive-through penalty.

As this penalty was imposed on the Ferrari driver after the race, it becomes a 20-second penalty. A victory contender early in the race, Leclerc saw his Miami Grand Prix unravel with a late spin.

Charles Leclerc receives 20-second FIA penalty in Miami

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Leclerc’s Ferrari sustained damage in a dramatic last-lap spin at the Miami Grand Prix, though he somehow avoided a race-ending whack of the wall.

Passed by Russell and Verstappen as he nursed his SF-26 to the finish line, Leclerc was initially classified P6.

But, that became eighth when the FIA issued a drive-through penalty, converted to 20 seconds.

It was deemed that Leclerc had left the track and gained an advantage in multiple instances after his spin, with no justifiable reason, triggering the punishment.

The stewards’ verdict reads: “The stewards heard from the driver of Car 16 (Charles Leclerc), team representative and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, team radio and in-car video evidence.

“Car 16 spun on the last lap at Turn 3 and hit the wall but continued on track. The driver informed us that the car appeared fine save that the car would not negotiate the right hand corners properly.

“Given this problem, he was forced to cut chicanes on the way to the chequered flag.

“We determined that the fact that he had to cut the chicanes (i.e. to leave the track) meant that he gained a lasting advantage by leaving the track in that manner.

“The fact that he had a mechanical issue of some sort did not amount to a justifiable reason.

“We accordingly impose a drive-through penalty on Car 16, given the number of times the car left the track and gained an advantage.”

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Leclerc had also been under investigation for potentially driving his Ferrari in an unsafe manner, by carrying on in the wounded SF-26 after his spin.

“We also considered whether there was an additional breach in continuing to drive a car with an obvious and discernible mechanical issue,” the stewards continued.

“We determined that there was no evidence of there being an obvious of discernible mechanical issue.

“We therefore took no further action in relation to that potential infringement.”

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