Verstappen-Leclerc decision: FIA's reason for no penalty

It took them well over two hours to decide, but ultimately the FIA found that there was no case to answer for Max Verstappen in respect to his coming together with Charles Leclerc towards the end of the Austrian Grand Prix.

Verstappen, flying in the closing stages of a thrilling battle, moved into the apex of the corner ahead of Leclerc and as both jostled for position, the Ferrari man was nudged off the track as Verstappen retained the racing line coming from the corner.

Leclerc was immediately unhappy about the Dutchman's actions and the FIA confirmed that they would investigate, as Verstappen and his huge orange army celebrated the chequered flag.

#F1 - Austrian Grand Prix - Documents 49 & 50 pic.twitter.com/yrsnLSpPh1

— FIA (@fia) June 30, 2019

After a lengthy deliberation, FIA chose not to impose a penalty on Verstappen and gave the following reasoning:

- The Stewards reviewed the video evidence and heard testimonies from Leclerc and Verstappen.

- They saw Car 33 (Verstappen) seeking to overtake Car 16 (Leclerc) on lap 69.

- In doing so, Car 33 was alongside Car 16 on the entry of the corner and was in full control of the car while attempting the overtaking move.

- Both car 33 and 16 proceeded to negotiate the corner alongside each other but there was clearly insufficient space for both cars to do so.

- Shortly after the apex, while exiting the corner, there was contact between the two cars.

- In the totality of the circumstances, we did not consider that either driver was wholly or predominantly to blame for the incident.

- We consider this to be a racing incident.

Ferrari and Mattia Binotto, despite not agreeing with the decision, appear to have taken the decision not to appeal.

The Scuderia supremo told Italian media: "We respect the decision, but it is wrong. Bravo Verstappen, but we must turn the page."

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