Ferrari star loses Brazilian GP position as FIA confirm trio of post-race penalties

Charles Leclerc's tough Brazilian Grand Prix was compounded further after the race, with the FIA confirming that he was handed a five-second time penalty hours after the chequered flag.

That penalty drops the Ferrari driver down from an already-disappointing seventh place down to eighth, allowing Liam Lawson to leapfrog him up into that seventh spot.

Leclerc was penalised for causing a collision with Lawson in the closing stages of the race, nerfing the Kiwi out of his way in a desperate attempt to salvage an extra couple of points from a race in which he struggled.

Max Verstappen borrowed a famous line from NASCAR discussions when he first saw the incident in the cool-down room with his fellow podium finishers, quipping 'rubbing is racing...?'

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc held crisis talks - but 'Fred hasn't cleared the air'

Leclerc one of three drivers to receive post-race penalties

Leclerc wasn't the only driver to have a handful of seconds added to his race time by the stewards, with two other finishers hit with five-second penalties for unsafe releases in the pit lane during a late round of hurried stops when the rain returned.

Fifth-placed finisher Kimi Antonelli and 17th-placed Ollie Bearman both picked up penalties for those infringements, but neither of them lost any places as a result.

Leclerc's penalty means that Mercedes outscored Ferrari by 16 points rather than 14 – both comfortably above the three-point gap the Silver Arrows needed to secure the constructors' title.

*Kimi Antonelli took a five-second penalty for an unsafe release.

**Leclerc dropped from seventh to eighth post-race thanks to a five-second penalty for causing a collision with Liam Lawson.

***Ollie Bearman took a five-second penalty for an unsafe release.

READ MORE: Departing Red Bull mechanic spills the beans on Max Verstappen

Written by

Chris Deeley - Editor

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