Palmer with harsh verdict: "This was a poor error from Leclerc"

Charles Leclerc became Driver of the Day in the Styrian Grand Prix after a good overtaking race at the Red Bull Ring circuit. A collision with Pierre Gasly forced the Ferrari driver to come in for a new front wing early in the race, allowing the man from Monaco to start again from the back. The result was seventh place in Spielberg.

Jolyon Palmer, in his column for Formula 1 Palmer hinted that the incident was Leclerc's fault. "This was a poor error from Leclerc who seemed to either have a lapse in concentration or simply misjudge the length of his car – in his defence, you can’t see your front wing from the cockpit."

Leclerc recovers well

The former Formula One driver thought Leclerc's Sunday afternoon was over when the 23-year-old driver was the last to return to the track. Palmer pointed to Ferrari's speed in the longruns, which has generally been a little disappointing this year. A zero points finish seemed imminent, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Leclerc had the stewards to thank for that. They gave him no penalty for the collision with Gasly. "I’m also very surprised he didn’t get investigated by the stewards for the incident as well, because in my view he was clearly at fault. Gasly couldn’t really move to the right because Alonso was there, while Leclerc had plenty of space on his left to avoid the clash."

Race director Michael Masi indicated afterwards that they had been a bit more lenient as it was an incident on the first lap.