A fine of €10,000 has been imposed on Ferrari for the unsafe release of Charles Leclerc, which impeded Lando Norris of McLaren during the practice session for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.
During the second practice session held on Friday evening, Leclerc was dispatched from the Ferrari garage, moving into the path of Norris. This resulted in a collision causing damage to the front wing of Norris’ car, which necessitated the vehicle being returned to the garage for repairs.
Upon conducting a thorough review, the FIA race stewards determined that the Ferrari team was accountable for the error of judgement, resulting in the €10,000 penalty.
“Following the conclusion of a red flag period, numerous cars were leaving their respective garages. Car number 16 (LEC) initially received instruction from a member of the team to exit the pitbox. However, it was not noticed at that precise moment that car number 4 (NOR) was already in the fast lane, closing in on the Ferrari pitbox and directly in the intended path of LEC,” stated the official decision document from the FIA stewards.
“The team member responsible for ensuring the safety of car number 16 during release miscalculated the situation and conveyed unclear instructions to LEC, who was unable to see NOR’s car. This resulted in the contact between the two cars within the fast lane.
“After considering previous occurrences of this type of rule violation, the Stewards are of the opinion that the present breach warrants a more significant penalty than those previously applied, and accordingly, the above penalty is imposed.”
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images
Leclerc indicated that a degree of uncertainty occurred within Ferrari due to the rapid succession in which both McLarens were released.
“There was a certain amount of uncertainty pertaining to the two McLarens exiting,” remarked Leclerc. “It seemed as though they were leaving at approximately the same instant.
“Consequently, his [my mechanic’s] assessment was that they would proceed somewhat slowly, and therefore I did not receive the signal to halt. In scenarios such as these, one typically relies on the team’s judgement.
“However, such occurrences are not uncommon, and the situation was further complicated by the red flags, which resulted in an overall sense of urgency to complete a number of laps. Consequently, it was a confluence of factors. Although undesirable, such incidents are part of the sport.”
The aforementioned incident compounded an already disordered second practice session, which experienced two stoppages due to on-track incidents involving George Russell and Liam Lawson, consequently interrupting the long-run plans of the teams.
We want to hear from you!
Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.
Take our survey
– The Autosport.com Team
