Monaco GP: Leclerc slapped with 3-place grid drop after Norris impede

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has been slapped with a three-place grid penalty after the Monegasque impeded McLaren’s Lando Norris in the tunnel, during qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Leclerc was preparing himself for a strong race on Sunday after he qualified third behind pole-sitter, and Red Bull’s defending world champion, Max Verstappen and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

However, the Ferrari driver was found to have impeded the McLaren of Norris which meant the British driver will start the grand prix in 10th place.

The stewards deemed the impeding of Norris to be ‘unnecessary’ and, based on previous precedents, handed Leclerc a three-place grid penalty for the Grand Prix on Sunday.

In the decision, the stewards stated:

“Leclerc had finished his final lap of Q3 and was in the Turn 4 through Turn 10 complex. Norris was on a fast lap and caught Leclerc in the middle of the tunnel and was clearly impeded.

“Both drivers agreed that there was little that Leclerc could have safely done in the tunnel to avoid impeding Norris, given the difficulty in vision due to the light entering and in the tunnel and the change of lines from one side of the tunnel to the other.

Although the stewards confirmed Leclerc had reacted to the blue flags in a sensible way, they put a portion of the blame onto Ferrari as they failed to inform their driver of a fast-approaching car.

3 – GP MONACO F1/2023 – SABATO 27/05/2023 – credit: @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

“However, the Stewards reviewed team radio, and Leclerc’s team failed to give him any warning about Norris’ approach until Norris was already directly behind him,” the stewards continued. “Further, the discussion during the preceding portion of the track was entirely about competing drivers, not the traffic behind, which is a critical task at this track.

“The Stewards believe that there is much that Leclerc could have done prior to the tunnel to avoid the impeding had he received warning from the team at an appropriate time, especially considering that Norris’ approach was clear on the marshalling system. Thus, the Stewards consider that the impeding was unnecessary.

“The Stewards reviewed all the preceding unnecessarily impeding penalties in the past few years. In every case, the actions, or inaction of the team did not mitigate the unnecessary impeding. Thus the Stewards impose the usual penalty of a three-grid drop.”

As a result of the three-place grid drop, this will force the Monegasque to start his home race from sixth on the grid as Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, teammate Carlos Sainz and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton all move up one position: third, fourth and fifth respectively.

That’s all for the article: Monaco GP: Leclerc slapped with 3-place grid drop after Norris impeed!

What do you think of Charles Leclerc’s punishment, was it the right or wrong call? Let us know in the comments!

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.