Charles Leclerc Hit with 20-Second Penalty After Chaotic Miami GP Final Lap

A Costly Final Lap for Ferrari

Charles Leclerc did not escape punishment following a chaotic conclusion to the Miami Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver, who found himself entangled in three separate post-race investigations in Florida, was handed a severe 20-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage multiple times during the final lap.

The drama unfolded at the start of the last lap when Leclerc, battling Oscar Piastri for the final spot on the podium, spun and crashed his SF-26 into the wall. Though he managed to keep the car running, the incident left him vulnerable. In a desperate bid to retain fourth place, Leclerc was forced to defend heavily against George Russell and Max Verstappen. Ultimately, the Ferrari driver failed to hold them off, crossing the finish line in sixth place at the Miami International Autodrome.

The Stewards' Verdict

During that frantic final lap, Leclerc utilized various run-off zones to nurse his damaged car to the chequered flag. However, the race stewards took a dim view of his actions, determining that he had gained an unfair advantage. The resulting penalty demoted Leclerc from sixth to eighth place in the final classification. Consequently, Lewis Hamilton and Franco Colapinto each moved up one position in the race results.

The official stewards' document provided a detailed breakdown of the decision: “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.”

According to the report, Leclerc informed the stewards that while the car appeared mostly fine after hitting the wall at Turn 3, it would not negotiate right-hand corners properly.

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

Mechanical Issues Not a Justification

Crucially, the stewards ruled that nursing a damaged car does not excuse track limit violations. “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.”

The stewards also investigated whether Leclerc breached regulations by continuing to drive a potentially unsafe vehicle. However, he was cleared of this specific infraction. “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,” the document concluded.