FIA stewards reveal why Leclerc didn't get the penalty Verstappen expected
Photo: Race Pictures
Kada Sárközi joined GPblog as an editor ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season. He graduated with a BA in Sports Journalism in the UK and has covered Grands Prix and other F1 events live.
Many people were surprised that Charles Leclerc only received a five-second time penalty after leaving the track and cutting Turn 5 following the start. The FIA stewards explained in their verdict why that was the case.
After the start, Leclerc attacked Hamilton for the lead of the Mexico City Grand Prix. Exiting Turn 4, both cars went wide, and Leclerc cut Turn 5 entirely.
After reviewing the incident, the stewards handed him a five-second time penalty. The decision also surprised Max Verstappen, who was running behind the Monegasque driver at the time. The Red Bull Racing driver commented over the team radio that he thought the new guidelines meant Leclerc would receive a 10-second time penalty. Hamilton also said that he had expected Leclerc to receive a 10-second penalty rather than a five-second one for his actions.
The stewards' verdict on the Leclerc incident
The verdicts reads: "The Stewards reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video and in-car video evidence.
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"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.
"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."
Photo: Race Pictures
Hamilton shares new heartfelt message amid Mexico City battle with Leclerc
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In his latest post on social media, Hamilton reflected on what happened last Sunday. He began: "Our own weekend was one full of challenges. We had a lot thrown at us but our mechanics and engineers did an incredible job. We’ve grown so much together this year, and that progress has taken a huge effort from everyone on the track and back at the factory. That’s why losing what could’ve been a win hurts so much.
"We need to grasp every opportunity we have, so it’s incredibly frustrating, and I can’t pretend otherwise. I know what goes into giving us that opportunity. The standard the team holds itself to, the standard I hold myself to, the standard the fans expect.
"Everyone deserves to see us at our best and win. We’re all here to race and want to win. Battling is necessary, but when that battle costs the team, we have to be honest about it and learn from it. We can push each other to the limit and still honour the responsibility to everyone who put us on that track," the seven-time world champion explained.
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