FIA stewards reason for Charles Leclerc penalty at Hungary GP
4th August 2025The FIA stewards have given their reasoning for why Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was given a five-second time penalty for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
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Ferrari’s Monegasque driver was put into the spotlight with the stewards during the Hungarian Grand Prix for what they described as ‘erratic driving,’ against Mercedes driver George Russell.
The incident was late in the race, and the Mercedes had quickly caught up to the back of the #16 Ferrari to fight for the final podium position, third place.
Russell complained over the team radio that Leclerc was moving under braking as the Monegasque tried to defend his position, and the two nearly made contact on lap 62.
It prompted an investigation against Leclerc, which the stewards deemed had revealed the Monegasque had been driving erratically, resulting in a five-second time penalty.
After the race, they released their reasoning. They confirmed they believe the moves made by Leclerc constituted to ‘erratic driving’ but took into account there was no contact between the pair, and they opted for the less severe penalty.
“Car 63 moved to overtake Car 16 on the inside into Turn 1,” they reported. “Car 16 moved towards Car 63 on the main straight before braking and subsequently moved a second time, now under braking, nearly causing a collision with Car 63.
“The Stewards consider both moves combined to constitute erratic driving.
“The Stewards took into account that Car 63 succeeded in overtaking Car 16 and that there was no contact and in these circumstances apply a less severe penalty than might have been applied in different circumstances.”
The Ferrari driver was also given a penalty point on his super licence, which was previously clean before the incident and has now started his 12-month period.
Following the penalty, Leclerc had enough time between himself and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso that the five seconds did not cost the Monegasque his on-track position.
In the end, Leclerc finished fourth, behind Russell in third and Alonso in fifth.
Read more Formula 1 here:
- FIA Stewards give verdict on Verstappen and Hamilton incident at Hungary GP
- Verstappen and Hamilton receive stewards summons after Hungary GP
- Lando Norris seals Hungary GP win ahead of F1 shutdown
- How does the grid line up for Hungary GP with penalties applied
- FIA confirm pit lane start for Yuki Tsunoda after Parc Ferme breach
- Charles Leclerc snatches Hungary GP F1 pole position from McLarens
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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.
