Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Monaco, 2023

Leclerc given three-place grid penalty for impeding Norris

2023 Monaco Grand Prix

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Charles Leclerc has been given a three-place penalty after the stewards ruled he impeded Lando Norris in qualifying.

The Ferrari driver obstructed his rival as they passed through the tunnel during Q3. The stewards ruled Ferrari had failed to keep Leclerc informed of Norris approaching behind him.

Leclerc’s race engineer Xavi Marcos Padros initially told him Max Verstappen was approaching behind, but not the McLaren which was closer. “So Verstappen is pushing now we have Norris, watch for traffic with Norris first,” said Marcos Padros as Norris appeared behind the Ferrari.

Teams must keep their drivers informed of traffic approaching behind them, the stewards noted. However in Leclerc’s case: “The discussion during the preceding portion of the track was entirely about competing drivers, not the traffic behind, which is a critical task at this track.”

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Monaco, 2023
Gallery: Monaco Grand Prix qualifying day in pictures
Norris said Leclerc “did what he could” to avoid holding him up. “But when you listen to the team radio they were just telling him about Verstappen’s lap and giving him live updates rather than concentrating on who’s behind him. Which I don’t really understand, but it is what it is.”

Ferrari committed a similar error in Monaco last year, when they were fined after Carlos Sainz Jnr impeded Lance Stroll during practice.

Leclerc originally qualified third on the grid for Sunday’s race. His penalty will drop him to sixth place, promoting Esteban Ocon, Carlos Sainz Jnr and Lewis Hamilton.

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Stewards’ decision on Leclerc

The Stewards heard from the driver of car ​16 (Charles Leclerc), the driver of car four (Lando Norris), team representatives and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing data, team radio and in-car video evidence.

Leclerc had finished his final lap of Q3 and was in the turn four through turn 10 complex. Norris was on a fast lap and caught Leclerc in the middle of the tunnel and was clearly impeded.

Both drivers agreed that there was little that Leclerc could have safely done in the tunnel to avoid impeding Norris, given the difficulty in vision due to the light entering and in the tunnel and the change of lines from one side of the tunnel to the other. In fact, the stewards observed that Leclerc reacted in a sensible way to a blue flag displayed by the marshals, but at this point it was too late.

However, the stewards reviewed team radio, and Leclerc’s team failed to give him any warning about Norris’ approach until Norris was already directly behind him. Further, the discussion during the preceding portion of the track was entirely about competing drivers, not the traffic behind, which is a critical task at this track.

The stewards believe that there is much that Leclerc could have done prior to the tunnel to avoid the impeding had he received warning from the team at an appropriate time, especially considering that Norris’ approach was clear on the marshalling system. Thus, the stewards consider that the impeding was unnecessary.

The stewards reviewed all the preceding unnecessarily impeding penalties in the past few years. In every case, the actions, or inaction of the team did not mitigate the unnecessary impeding. Thus the stewards impose the usual penalty of a three grid drop.

Updated 2023 Monaco Grand Prix grid

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2023 Monaco Grand Prix

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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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19 comments on “Leclerc given three-place grid penalty for impeding Norris”

  1. As I wholly expected since the first replay.
    Clear-cut case, so no way he could’ve avoided a three-place grid penalty for that, given previous precedent for similar incidents in qualifying sessions.
    Ocon consequently gets a podium chance.

    1. Yeah, though Norris apparently wasn’t sure a penalty would follow, it seemed quite clear-cut @jerrejj, and again a preventable mistake from the team that hampers Leclerc (and yet again not a great outlook for the race in Monaco).

      1. I think it was more that Norris felt it did not change anything for him really @bosyber. It really shows how Ferrari still does not have their eyes on the ball only too often that they did not warn him of Norris coming up behind @jerejj. Another costly one.

        1. It is easy to blame someone else about your situation. Norris crashed in Q2 and he only set a time three minutes before end of Q3 that sucked. He ended dead last in Q3, over 8/10ths from pole. He stated in post interview that he thought he’d make P8 with a further drop of 3/10ths to position infront of Russell. Yah, I say no way McLaren is performing near dead last within the teams this year.

  2. Interesting. I would have given penalty points, as this was by far more dangerous than abusing track limits, but what would I know?

    1. Given penalty points mean very little, as stewards refuse to give points which would lead to a ban, I’m not sure why it matters… But I agree, it’s definitely very dangerous!

      1. Agree, finally someone who noticed as well, those points could be considered imaginary, a bit like some people putting asterisks on some championships, but they don’t have any real effect.

    2. Well speeding in pit lane is only a few hundred euros so.

      Who are the stewards this week?

      1. Well speeding in pit lane is only a few hundred euros so

        If you’re referencing the George Russell event, then the excess speed was 200 metres per hour, which is a clear demonstration by the stewards of how accurate their equipment is compared to the average traffic cop speed gun, or a bit of nitpicking, depending on your viewpoint.

  3. Ferrari committed a similar error in Monaco last year,

    Obviously they thought it was such an interesting screw-up, they really needed to repeat it.
    The biggest obstacle to a successful Ferrari season is the Ferrari team itself.

  4. Adam (@rocketpanda)
    27th May 2023, 19:54

    Has someone cursed Leclerc? The guy seems to have a ridiculously large amount of bad luck lately.

    1. Just the normal Monaco Curse personaly i blame Matt of Matt and Tommy who jinx Charles everytime…

  5. Will Leclerc ever have a Monaco weekend where nothing major goes wrong?

  6. The stewards reviewed all the preceding unnecessarily impeding penalties in the past few years. In every case, the actions, or inaction of the team did not mitigate the unnecessary impeding. Thus the stewards impose the usual penalty of a three grid drop.

    All? I guess some stewards forgot the Austrian GP of 2021.

    Classic for Ferrari to get penalized where others get waved off.

    1. That may be the case, but whatever the cause, Leclerc did cause an issue for the other driver and the penalty is in line with the rules.

    2. Stewarding is really catching up fast to WWE level, and keeping a straight face about their rigorous investigations.

    3. Which cases do we have where they didn’t penalise the impeding driver? I remember some where I thought the decision was inconsistent, but was that in quali? Some were practice sessions, and they seem to be more lenient there, in quali they regularly gave penalties.

  7. Noris cry baby again, and again,let see what he is going to find as an excuse for his dramatic lac of strong next performance

  8. It’d time Charle’s looks for a new team

Comments are closed.