Lance Stroll penalized one place on the grid after colliding with Leclerc

Lance Stroll will have to drop one position on the starting grid for the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday. The Canadian Aston Martin driver was penalized by the stewards following his collision with Charles Leclerc during the first free practice session.

The decision of the commissioners is final. Indeed, they consider Stroll to be entirely responsible for the collision that occurred at the Monaco hairpin. The 26-year-old driver has also been given a penalty point on his driving license.

A very costly radio misunderstanding

The incident occurred in the first few minutes of the session when Stroll moved off the racing line to let a faster car pass as it approached the hairpin. The problem arose because the Canadian returned to the racing line just as Leclerc was coming up at full speed behind him.

The contact was therefore inevitable. The Monegasque hit the rear of the Aston Martin, damaging his front wing and triggering a red flag to clear debris from the track. For Stroll, the consequences were more severe, with the rear suspension of his AMR25 broken and a gearbox change necessary, which prematurely ended his session.

During the hearing with the commissioners, Stroll admitted that his team had warned him of Leclerc's arrival via radio, but he didn't hear the message. This communication failure is costly, especially as every lap counts in Monaco to get a feel for such a unique circuit.

The irony of the situation is that despite this incident, Leclerc finished the session at the top with a time of 1:11.964, beating Max Verstappen by 163 milliseconds. The Monegasque downplayed Ferrari's chances for this weekend, but this first timing suggests promising possibilities for the Italian team on its favorite ground.