Charles Leclerc has been hit with an official FIA reprimand after he was summoned to the stewards for driving an unsafe vehicle.
The Monegasque lost control of his Ferrari on the way to the grid but despite colliding with the wall, he continued for a significant distance before pulling over.
Charles Leclerc summoned to the stewards for sprint crash
Even with debris peeling off his car, Leclerc continued along the Miami track before eventually coming to a halt and exiting the car.
The damage was enough to see Leclerc out of the sprint race before it had even begun and giving his mechanics a race to rebuild it ahead of quali.
Whilst they did that, Leclerc and a team representative met with the stewards over the alleged breaking of Article 26.10 of the FIA Formula Sporting Regulations.
“Any driver whose car has significant and obvious damage to a structural component which results in it being in a condition presenting an immediate risk of endangering the driver or others, or whose car has a significant failure or fault which means it cannot reasonably return to the pit lane without unnecessarily impeding another competitor or otherwise hindering the Competition must leave the track as soon as it is safe to do so.
“At the sole discretion of the Race Director, should a car be deemed to have such significant and obvious damage to a structural component, or such significant failure or fault, the Competitor may be instructed that the car must leave the track as soon as it is safe to do so.”
‘Reason The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 16 (Charles Leclerc), the team representative and reviewed video evidence. Car 16 hit the wall in Turn 10 and sustained significant damage. Nonetheless, the driver continued on track (at a low speed) and only stopped before Turn 14, after being told to do so by the team.
‘The Stewards note that incidents during the Reconnaissance Laps will be regarded in the same way as incidents during Free Practice and therefore a reprimand is considered appropriate.
‘Competitors are reminded that they have the right to appeal certain decisions of the Stewards, in accordance with Article 15 of the FIA International Sporting Code and Chapter 4 of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules, within the applicable time limits.
‘Decisions of the Stewards are taken independently of the FIA and are based solely on the relevant regulations, guidelines and evidence presented.’
