Track limits in Abu Dhabi: Charles Leclerc’s time deleted, Oscar Piastri’s not. What’s the difference?. Track limits in Abu Dhabi played a key role in qualifying.

Qualifying for the Abu Dhabi GP saw several lap times deleted for track limits, including Charles Leclerc’s. The battle for the Constructors’ Championship now appears heavily tilted against Ferrari.

Leclerc’s weekend started poorly, as the Monegasque driver dealt with food poisoning. On Friday, he faced another blow: a 10-place grid penalty for a battery change.

Qualifying continued the streak of misfortune for car #16. After setting the fastest time in Q2, Charles Leclerc saw his lap time deleted for exceeding track limits. He consequently dropped to P14, and with his grid penalty, Leclerc will start the race from last place. A monumental task awaits him on Sunday.

Was the FIA’s decision fair? In this case, the stewards were correct. In Turn 1, Charles Leclerc’s car exceeded the white line by 1-2 centimeters. A minuscule margin, but enough to warrant the deletion of his time.

Oscar Piastri’s case, however, was slightly different. In Q3, the McLaren driver initially had his second-fastest lap time behind Max Verstappen deleted for track limits, only to have it reinstated.

Upon review, the Australian driver was determined to have stayed within the white line at Turn 1—similar to Sergio Pérez’s situation in Q1—leading the stewards to decide against penalizing him.

The image comparison below highlights the difference: Charles Leclerc exceeded the track limits by mere centimeters, while Oscar Piastri managed to stay within the bounds of the track.

Source: f1ingenerale