The 20-second penalty imposed on Charles Leclerc following the Miami Grand Prix – which was actually a conversion of an uncompleted drive-through penalty imposed by the FIA stewards – is a particularly severe sanction in modern Formula 1.
The Monegasque driver was penalised for multiple off-track excursions, following a spin the Ferrari driver suffered at Turn 3 which resulted in a hit against the wall.
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The damage was therefore limited compared to what it could have been, but not enough for the SF-26 to be fully operational. Damage to the left wheels and suspension made Leclerc’s car difficult to steer through right-hand turns.
However, despite the incident and the damage, Leclerc ultimately found himself in a position to hold onto his fourth-place finish. The Ferrari driver held on until Turn 17 when George Russell overtook him, and then the final turn before Max Verstappen gained the advantage.
But, it must be said that, Leclerc cut several corners significantly (Turns 4, 8, 11, and 15) to do so, as shown in a compilation posted by Formula 1 on social media.
The FIA stewards stated: “Car 16 spun out on the final lap at Turn 3 and hit the wall but remained on track. The driver informed us that the car appeared to be in good condition, even though it was not handling right-hand turns correctly.
“Due to this issue, he was forced to cut the chicanes until the chequered flag. We determined that the fact he had to cut the chicanes (and thus leave the track) means he gained an advantage by leaving the track in this manner.
“The fact that he had a mechanical issue, of whatever nature, is not a justifiable reason. We are therefore imposing a drive-through penalty on car 16, due to the number of times the car left the track and gained an advantage.”
While the first off-track excursion at Turn 4 can be justified by the incident that occurred just before and does not seem to have actually allowed Leclerc to gain time, the other three, however, are more suspicious, particularly the last two (Turns 11 and 15) where the Monegasque driver undeniably gained time, even though in reality his car was so badly damaged that he was losing ground to his rivals.
It was this time gained that allowed him to remain in contention with Russell and Verstappen at the very end of the lap, and even though he was unable to capitalise on it by maintaining his position, he was indeed guilty of gaining an advantage from his multiple off-track excursions.
The debate could always focus on the severity of the penalty – correlated with the number of infractions – or the fact that Leclerc might have had a “justifiable reason” to leave the track. This, however, was dismissed by the stewards.
Photos from Miami GP – Sunday
Miami GP – Sunday, in photos
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