Leclerc avoids disqualification from Abu Dhabi GP

Charles Leclerc has avoided being disqualified from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after a fuel irregularity was found in his Ferrari before the race.

Shortly before lights out at the Yas Marina Circuit, the FIA issued a statement saying: "There was a significant difference between the declaration of the team and the amount of fuel inside the car."

Stewards issued a fine of €50,000, but Leclerc keeps his third place.

The FIA's findings read: "TD/014-19 required teams to declare the amount of fuel that they intended to put in the car for the laps to the grid, the formation lap, the race, the in-lap and any fire-ups that would be needed. The Technical Delegate was able to confirm the fuel mass put in the tank by checking in accordance with the procedure specified in TD/014-19.

"There was a difference of 4.88kgs between the team’s declaration for car 16 and the Technical Delegate’s measured fuel mass.

"The team’s declaration was therefore inaccurate and constituted a breach of the Technical Directive. This in turn constitutes an infringement of Article 12.1.1.i of the International Sporting Code."

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner had said pre-race that he expected Leclerc to be disqualified over the race, which may have increased scrutiny on Ferrari's engines.

The Scuderia's mid-season pace gains caught the attention of rival teams, and the FIA, who have issued several technical directives, seen as an exploration of the legality of Ferrari's PU.

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

Fernando Alonso takes drastic action to avoid injury from Aston Martin F1 car

• 3 hours ago

Lewis Hamilton's mum 'gobsmacked' by Chinese Grand Prix discovery

• Yesterday 22:55

McLaren 'would have won F1 world championship with Daniel Ricciardo'

• Yesterday 22:15

Lewis Hamilton drops heart eyes emoji to ‘hard launch’ Kim Kardashian relationship

• Yesterday 21:30

Aston Martin ‘are now looking for a new team principal’ claims top F1 insider

• Yesterday 20:55

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff 'overwhelmed' at emotional Lewis Hamilton reunion

• Yesterday 19:53