Official: Leclerc avoids the grid penalty!

A simple scare. The fastest driver during the last free practice session, Charles Leclerc will not be moved back on the starting grid for his incident caused in FP3. The young Scuderia Ferrari driver did not fully comply with the speed requirement set by the FIA… during Sebastian Vettel’s crash, his teammate, at Sainte-Dévote. In fact, the native of Monaco did indeed slow down in the first and second turns, but not enough afterward: he was supposed to further reduce his speed until the eighth turn, which he did not sufficiently do according to the stewards who summoned him to race control with his team.

Questioned, Leclerc managed to be convincing to avoid being sanctioned. The FIA report states it with these terms:

« The stewards acknowledged that the driver significantly slowed down compared to a normal lap. However, if the VSC is imposed for safety reasons, the stewards determine the margin of error. Thus, the stewards impose a reprimand, in line with previous cases that occurred during earlier sessions.

»

Under investigation by the @fia stewards for returning to the pits too quickly under VSC procedure, @Charles_Leclerc received only a simple reprimand. Phew! #F1 #TeamLeclerc #MonacoGP #Ferrari #Mercedes #FP3 #Quali #Qualifying #Hamilton #Bottas #Leclerc #Vettel pic.twitter.com/TCcHBi4u4v

— Charles Leclerc Fans (@CLeclercFans) 25 mai

As a reminder, Leclerc would have been disadvantaged by his own teammate at Ferrari, which would have been catastrophic for the collective dynamic of the weekend. Charles Leclerc can therefore breathe and fight, possibly for pole position, if Mercedes doesn’t have more in reserve. Meanwhile, Vettel’s participation in qualifying is still uncertain, with mechanics busy repairing his Ferrari damaged in the wall at the first corner!

Oh Seb! 🙈#MonacoGP 🇲🇨 #F1 pic.twitter.com/AlONZr0sLy

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 25

From our special correspondent in Monaco