Ferrari hit with FIA summons after Chinese Grand Prix sprint qualifying

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc — Photo: © IMAGO

Chinese Grand Prix

Ferrari hit with FIA summons after Chinese Grand Prix sprint qualifying

The second race weekend of the season has begun

Chris Deeley

Friday 21 March 2025 10:15 Updated: 17:17

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The FIA have summoned Ferrari star Charles Leclerc to see the stewards after an alleged breach of a rule announced after the first session of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend.

Both Leclerc and Aston Martin star Lance Stroll have been summoned by the FIA for allegedly driving unnecessarily slowly in sprint qualifying, and they could face grid penalties.

Ahead of Friday's sprint qualifying and Saturday's feature race qualifying, the sport's governing body confirmed the maximum lap time allowed for warm-up and cool-down laps, in a mandatory rule all drivers must follow.

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Drivers violating that rule could be subject to penalties, potentially relative to their grid position, as stewards look to ensure that drivers on flying laps aren't held up unnecessarily by dawdling cars.

An FIA statement on the rule read: "In order to ensure that cars are not driven unnecessarily slowly on any laps during and after the end of sprint qualifying, qualifying or during reconnaissance lap (s) when the pit exit is open for the sprint or the race, drivers must stay below 1:54.0 between the safety car lines shown on the pit lane drawing."

What is the lap time cap at the Chinese GP?

Leclerc put his Ferrari in fourth position in the sprint qualifying session, while his new team-mate Lewis Hamilton shocked the F1 paddock with a time good enough to beat both McLarens and Max Verstappen to sprint race pole position.

In first and fourth, it means that Ferrari have the chance to work together to try and achieve victory in the first race of the weekend, before main race qualifying gets underway later on Saturday.

"The driver and team representative are required to report to the Stewards at 17:00," an official FIA document read on Leclerc, as the Monegasque star was seen on the Sky Sports F1 broadcast trundling off to the stewards room with Ferrari sporting director Diego Ioverno.

An official investigation was launched on both Stroll and Leclerc's alleged misdemeanours, with a verdict announced later on Friday which determined no action would be taken, with the stewards accepting that there were extenuating circumstances for Leclerc exceeding the limit.

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Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton FIA Charles Leclerc Lance Stroll Chinese Grand Prix