Charles Leclerc has received a five-second time penalty following his collision with Liam Lawson during the 2026 Brazilian Grand Prix, losing seventh place after the FIA stewards ruled that the Ferrari driver had gained a sporting advantage from the contact. The decision added another disappointment to a difficult afternoon at Interlagos, where the Monegasque had already struggled with tyre temperatures, straight-line speed and the SF-26’s performance in wet conditions.
Starting 14th after a ten-place grid penalty for an internal combustion engine replacement, Charles Leclerc endured an extremely challenging opening stint on intermediate tyres. Ferrari struggled to bring the rubber into its operating window, leaving the car particularly difficult to drive. His performance improved considerably after switching to soft slick tyres, allowing him to recover positions steadily before the return of rain helped him avoid an additional pit stop compared with some of his rivals. However, his late battle with Liam Lawson ultimately proved costly, with the stewards deciding that contact with the left-hand side of the Racing Bulls car had influenced the subsequent overtake.
Why Charles Leclerc received a five-second penalty for the Liam Lawson collision
After hearing from both drivers and reviewing the available footage, the FIA stewards explained why they considered Charles Leclerc responsible for the incident.
“Although the contact was minor and car 30 was able to retain the lead immediately afterwards, the driver of car 30 argued that the impact had damaged the left-rear wheel rim of his car, while also allowing car 16 to close the gap and complete the overtake five corners later. Furthermore, under the driving standards guidelines, car 30 was entitled to the racing line through the corner, and it was the responsibility of car 16 to take the necessary action to avoid a collision. The driver of car 16 stated that it was minor contact, with no obvious consequences for the race.”
The stewards ultimately imposed a five-second penalty, which dropped Charles Leclerc behind Liam Lawson in the final classification. Their reasoning focused not only on the collision itself but also on the advantage they believed the Ferrari driver had gained.
“While acknowledging the minor nature of the contact, having reviewed the on-track battle between the two cars, we conclude that car 16 was able to close on car 30 and overtake it precisely because of that contact. The contact clearly impeded car 30, allowing car 16, which had been further behind before the incident, to draw alongside. This constituted a clear sporting consequence. As mitigating factors, we took into account the wet track conditions and the minor nature of the contact, opting for a five-second penalty rather than a ten-second penalty.”
The sanction therefore overturned the position Charles Leclerc had gained on track. The Ferrari driver had initially finished seventh, but the penalty left him eighth, handing the position back to Liam Lawson. The decision followed the FIA investigation into the Brazilian Grand Prix incident.
Charles Leclerc defends aggressive Liam Lawson overtake at Interlagos
Before learning the stewards’ verdict, Charles Leclerc had described his battle with Liam Lawson as an intense but enjoyable contest, explaining that the slippery conditions had influenced his approach to the overtaking manoeuvre.
“The battle with Liam was intense. Let’s say that, with the rain, everything becomes a little more slippery, which allows you to lean on the car alongside you a bit more; that’s exactly what I did with him. Otherwise, it would have been difficult. I knew that was really my only opportunity and that I had to take it, so I did. I made good use of the boost and, this time, managed to stay more or less alongside him. Anyway, I’m happy that I took the opportunity when it presented itself.”
Interestingly, Ferrari had not informed Charles Leclerc that the incident was under investigation. The Monegasque only discovered the situation when speaking to journalists in the interview area after the race.
“The overtake on Liam was on the limit, but for me that’s part of racing. I’ve only just found out that I’m under investigation; I wasn’t aware of it. As far as I’m concerned, it was a fun battle, although perhaps others don’t see it the same way.”
The penalty was another setback in a weekend already complicated by Ferrari’s power unit replacements and resulting grid penalties, which had forced both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to begin the Grand Prix well behind their qualifying positions.
Ferrari’s Brazilian GP race: disastrous first stint but improved pace on soft tyres
Beyond the controversy with Liam Lawson, Charles Leclerc was particularly critical of Ferrari’s performance during the opening phase of the race. The SF-26 struggled badly to generate sufficient temperature in its intermediate tyres, leaving the Monegasque with very little grip.
Lewis Hamilton also encountered difficulties during the opening stint, although Charles Leclerc acknowledged that his team-mate had managed to make a much stronger start.
“The first stint was a disaster, as far as I’m concerned. Especially at the beginning, we struggled enormously to get the tyres up to temperature; it’s incredible, the car was practically undriveable. Lewis definitely found a way, given that he made an incredible start, but for me it was like driving on ice. Later on, I had good pace, but I didn’t have much clear track and we lost a lot of time on the straights. So the first stint was really poor.”
The difficulties with tyre management were compounded by concerns about the Ferrari power unit, which appeared to be struggling against cars powered by Mercedes and Red Bull Ford engines. Charles Leclerc was particularly surprised by the scale of his straight-line deficit, suggesting that the team would need to investigate whether there had been a problem with his SF-26.
“I don’t really know what happened. We’ll have to analyse the situation with the team, but I had the impression that I was at a disadvantage compared with the Alpines. I think I lost around eight tenths on the straights, something like that. It was quite surprising; it wasn’t at all what we expected. I wonder whether there was some problem with the car. I wasn’t doing badly in the corners, but we were losing an enormous amount on the straights. We need to investigate.”
The reported deficit adds to the concerns surrounding Ferrari’s straight-line performance at Interlagos, which had already emerged during the Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying analysis. Recorded speed differences between Ferrari and its competitors can also be explored through the F1 top-speed comparison, although such measurements are influenced by aerodynamic configuration, energy deployment and other factors beyond engine performance alone.
There were nevertheless some encouraging signs during the second stint. On soft tyres, Charles Leclerc found a more competitive rhythm and extended his run until the rain returned, allowing Ferrari to take advantage of the changing conditions.
“The second stint, on the soft tyres, went quite well, although I didn’t have much clear track. In the end, though, thanks to patience and the right decisions we made afterwards, we finished seventh, behind the three top teams.”
That assessment reflected the position Charles Leclerc had secured on the road before the stewards applied his five-second penalty. His recovery from 14th demonstrated a clear improvement compared with the opening stint, but the final classification left Ferrari with less to show for the effort.
Charles Leclerc admits Ferrari’s long-standing wet-weather problems remain unresolved
One of the most concerning aspects of Ferrari’s Brazilian Grand Prix was the return of its familiar difficulties in wet conditions. Charles Leclerc had spoken positively about the information gathered during Saturday’s rain-affected qualifying session, when the team experimented with different settings in an attempt to improve the SF-26’s behaviour.
Those experiments had offered some encouragement, as Charles Leclerc explained following Ferrari’s wet-weather qualifying progress at Interlagos. However, the Grand Prix exposed how much work remained to be done, particularly when the car needed to perform consistently over a longer stint on a slippery circuit.
“There’s a lot to learn. Yesterday we gathered an enormous amount of information and I think, looking ahead to qualifying, there are things we can improve precisely because of what we learned yesterday. As for today, with the rain coming, it’s a bit like tossing a coin: we could have found ourselves in the ideal situation or… In wet conditions, the car is a complete disaster, so there’s still a lot of work to do in that respect.”
The Ferrari driver concluded by reflecting on a problem he believes has persisted throughout his time with the Maranello team. Despite occasional encouraging performances, Charles Leclerc feels that genuinely successful wet-weather races have remained the exception rather than the rule.
“Unfortunately, as I said yesterday, it’s been nine years: in these conditions we’ve achieved good results very few times, while on many, many other occasions things have gone badly.”
The Brazilian Grand Prix therefore left Ferrari with several issues to examine. The five-second penalty cost Charles Leclerc a position in the final classification, but his concerns about tyre warm-up, straight-line performance and the SF-26’s behaviour in the rain raised broader questions about the team’s competitiveness. Even the improvement on soft tyres could not disguise the difficulties Ferrari continues to encounter when conditions change.
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