FIA announce F1 punishment verdict after Charles Leclerc incident at Imola Grand Prix

The FIA have published an official decision from the stewards after an incident involving Ferrari star Charles Leclerc at the Imola Grand Prix.

A Ferrari representative was summoned to the stewards after practice on Friday, with Leclerc investigated for an alleged breach of Technical Directive 003Q 2.g.ii.

Ferrari had altered Leclerc's tyre pressure whilst stationary in the garage during FP1, which did not follow the prescribed procedure and warranted an investigation.

However, the stewards have made their decision and whilst Leclerc's incident was a breach of the regulations, his Ferrari team were slammed with a €5,000 fine.

An official statement from the FIA read: "The stewards heard from the team representative of Car 16 (Charles Leclerc) and reviewed the technical data supplied by the Technical Delegate.

"Technical Directive 003G, point 2 g.ii, specifies that a tyre may be used more than once in a single session. It also sets out the procedures that must be followed if the team wishes to make adjustments to the tyres such as reducing tyre pressures. It requires that first, tyre temperatures must be obtained.

"The team representative admitted that these procedures were not followed, which is a breach of Article 30.5 a) of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations. The Stewards note that this was during a Free Practice session. In accordance with similar operational tyre infringements in the past, the stewards issue a fine of €5,000."

Hamilton suffers same FIA punishment in 2024

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were involved in a similar incident at the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix, where their Mercedes team altered their tyre pressure in the garage.

However, this was done when the starting procedure of the 2024 race was pushed back by 10 minutes and both Hamilton and Russell escaped a sporting penalty.

Mercedes were instead hit with a €5,000 fine for each driver, totalling €10,000 for the tyre breach.

F1 HEADLINES: Lewis Hamilton signs new deal as Ferrari star absent at Imola Grand Prix

Related

Imola Grand Prix

Why isn’t Toto Wolff at the Imola GP?

• 2 hours ago

Imola Grand Prix

New F1 star subject to pre-race FIA test at Imola Grand Prix

• 3 hours ago