Scuderia errari driver Charles Leclerc has been given a three-place grid penalty for the season finale in Abu Dhabi next week after being deemed to have caused the collision that finished both his and Max Verstappen’s race.
Charles lunged down the inside at turn four on lap one, making contact with eventual race winner Sergio Perez and forcing Verstappen wide into the gravel and ultimately the barrier.
The Monegasque conceded he was to blame for the incident during his interview mid-race – an interview conducted ahead of the stewards hearing – which is a view the stewards have concurred with.
In their report, the race stewards concluded: “The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 16 (Charles Leclerc), team representatives and have reviewed multiple angles of video evidence. Car 16 braked too late into Turn 4, locking the front right wheel and colliding with Car 11 which was taking the normal racing line into the corner.”
As the race continued without him, Leclerc conceded: “I don’t think it’s a mistake from Checo, I am not putting the blame on Checo, if there’s anybody to blame today it’s me, but I would say it’s more unfortunate than a blame.”
Charles Leclerc has also had two penalty points added to his license, taking his total for the 12-month period to three.
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