Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Monaco, 2019

Leclerc avoids grid penalty for VSC infringement

2019 Monaco Grand Prix

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Charles Leclerc will go into qualifying without the threat of a penalty after the stewards gave him a reprimand for an incident during final practice.

The Ferrari driver was investigated for allegedly driving too quickly during the Virtual Safety Car. The stewards ruled he did not increase his lap time above the minimum target set during the VSC but have given him a reprimand for the incident.

“The driver clearly and appropriately braked before turn 1 in reaction to the incident at the corner,” the stewards noted. “The VSC appeared when the driver was between turn one and turn two. The driver did slow significantly, however he remained below the minimum time set by the FIA ECU until past turn eight.

“The stewards recognised that the driver was considerably slower than a normal lap throughout the sequence. However, as the VSC is imposed for safety reasons, the stewards determined that the breach needed to be recognised. The stewards therefore impose a reprimand, which is consistent with similar cases during practice sessions.”

The reprimand is the first Leclerc has picked up this season. The VSC period he was caught speeding in was caused by his team mate Sebastian Vettel when he crashed at Sainte Devote.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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3 comments on “Leclerc avoids grid penalty for VSC infringement”

  1. Fair enough, though next time he will be judged harshly.

  2. petebaldwin (@)
    25th May 2019, 14:20

    Seems a bit of a now story now…. Wow!

  3. Well that’s good to know, the only way he’d end up starting near the back is if Ferrari’s strategists have another cock-up.

    Oh wait.

Comments are closed.