Charles Leclerc, Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon all avoid penalties

British Grand Prix

Leclerc, Stroll and Ocon all avoid penalties

The stewards felt no action was required in all three cases

Ian Parkes

Saturday 1 August 2020 18:44 Updated: 18:52

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Charles Leclerc, Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon have all avoided penalties from the stewards ahead of Sunday's British Grand Prix.

In the case of Leclerc and Stroll, they and a representative from Ferrari and Racing Point respectively found themselves in front of the stewards after qualifying at Silverstone on charges of unsafe release.

During Q3 Leclerc was released into the path of Stroll, who was forced to brake, leading to Renault's Daniel Ricciardo almost ending up in the back of the RP20.

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As is customary in these case the stewards reviewed video evidence but determined that "having reviewed previous instances...this situation was not particularly unsafe".

As for Ricciardo's Renault team-mate Ocon, he was charged with allegedly impeding Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen during Q1.

In a statement, the stewards said: "Towards the end of Q1 entering the final complex of turns, Raikkonen’s car was rapidly closing with Ocon.

"In the hearing, Raikkonen stated that because of the position of Ocon’s car through Turn 17 to Turn 18 his aero was affected negatively and that he was impeded.

"Ocon stated that he was advised of the position of Raikkonen by his team, and prior to entering Turn 16 looked at the relative position. He felt that there was a significant gap. He then accelerated through Turn 17 to start his lap.

"Raikkonen felt that by failing to accelerate early enough Ocon impeded him.

"The stewards reviewed the video and while they accept that Raikkonen’s aero may have been affected in his lap, the cars were never close enough, especially compared to previous cases, to constitute “Unnecessary Impeding” which is the text of the regulation."

The stewards again determined no further action was required.

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