Charles Leclerc Gets Five-Second Penalty for Colliding With Liam Lawson

Charles Leclerc received a five-second penalty for a collision with Liam Lawson at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, F1online reported. The decision dropped the Ferrari driver to eighth place in the race results.

The collision occurred on the final lap of the race. Leclerc, running seventh, was attempting to overtake Lawson for position. In the twelfth turn, Leclerc made contact with Lawson’s car, resulting in a five-second penalty for Leclerc. Both drivers continued without immediate retirement, but stewards later deemed the move to be a preventable collision.

According to the stewards’ findings, which were reviewed after the race, Leclerc had made contact with Lawson’s rear wheel. This contact, they determined, allowed Leclerc to close the gap and subsequently overtake the Racing Point driver within the next five corners. The stewards cited the FIA’s directives on-track standards, stating that Lawson had the right to the racing line and it was Leclerc’s responsibility to avoid a collision.

The stewards, comprised of Nish Shetty, Loïc Bacquelaine, Vitantonio Liuzzi, and Felipe Maluhy, reviewed the telemetry and video evidence of the incident. In their written explanation, they clarified: “While the contact was minor, it impacted Lawson’s car and enabled Leclerc to draw alongside and subsequently overtake him. This constitutes a clear sporting consequence.”

Leclerc’s defense centered on the minimal nature of the contact, arguing it had no significant sporting effect. The stewards agreed that the contact itself was minor but disagreed that it had no impact on the race outcome. Initially, a ten-second penalty was considered, but it was ultimately reduced to five seconds based on the FIA’s assessment that the contact was indeed slight.

The penalty had a direct and immediate impact on the final classification. Leclerc, who finished seventh on the track, was officially classified in eighth place. The demotion promoted Liam Lawson to seventh, a result that improved the Racing Point driver's standing. Kimi Antonelli and Ollie Bearman also received five-second penalties for unsafe pit releases, but their penalties did not alter their final finishing positions in the race.

The race, which saw Mercedes secure their constructors’ championship, was a challenging one for Leclerc and Ferrari. With the team's primary focus on the championship battle, individual points were essential. The loss of two points due to the penalty was a setback for the team’s overall standing as they head into the final races of the season.

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