FIA announce Ferrari penalty verdict after Charles Leclerc incident at Singapore GP

The FIA have announced the stewards’ verdict after they investigated a collision between Lando Norris and Ferrari F1 star Charles Leclerc at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Two red flags interrupted FP2 in Singapore, with 22 minutes of time lost in total before the session restarted.

As the drivers rushed to get out of the pit lane, Leclerc was released from the garage and into the path of Norris, crashing into the McLaren driver who then hit the wall.

Both McLaren and Ferrari mechanics helped to push Norris back into the garage, where his front wing was replaced, allowing him to return to the track.

Following FP2, both Leclerc, Norris and their team representatives were summoned by the stewards for an investigation over an alleged unsafe release.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after FP2, Leclerc explained the incident from his perspective and said: "I’ve analysed it. My camera was on my face so I couldn’t see to double check with my mechanic and speaking with him it was a bit of confusion with the two McLarens going out.

“It looked like they were going out at the same time, so he thought they would go out slower, so I didn’t have a message to stop.

“On these kind of cases you rely on the team but these kind of things happen. It was also in a tricky moment because with all the red flags, everyone was in a rush to get out to do some laps. It’s a combination of things. It’s not something you want but these things happen.”

Leclerc and Ferrari slapped with 'severe' FIA punishment

Following the stewards investigation, the FIA announced that Ferrari had been found responsible for an unsafe release and the team were fined €10,000.

They found that Leclerc was instructed to leave his pit box by a team member, who overlooked that Norris was already passing in the fast lane and into the path of the Ferrari.

The team member was deemed to have misjudged the situation and gave unclear instructions to Leclerc, who could not see Norris.

Having noted precedents for this type of breach, the stewards decided that this occasion warranted a more severe penalty than previously applied, hence the huge fine detailed above.

While the fine is certainly hefty, no sporting penalty has been imposed on Ferrari or Leclerc from the incident in FP2.

The incident was criticised by Sky Sports commentators Anthony Davidson and Jamie Chadwick, with the former stating it was an ‘accident waiting to happen' and Chadwick arguing a more serious punishment should be imposed.

“This has been an accident waiting to happen. Teams rushing out into the pits,” Davidson said after FP2.

“Charles Leclerc, I still feel like there was nothing that he could have done to have avoided that, from the inside of the car you’re waved on by your front-end mechanic and even the mechanics helped to push the McLaren back.”

Chadwick added: “You’re so reliant on the person that’s sending you from the garage, that’s the person you look at, as soon as they say it’s clear you go.

“He's gone straight into the path of Lando, nothing Lando could do, not much Charles could do but I think they’ll be getting a hefty fine, maybe even a penalty.”

The racing driver and Sky pundit then also suggested a bigger deterrent than a fine should be introduced to avoid this issue again in the future.

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