F1
Ferrari surprised and disappointed by Leclerc penalty applied in “a few seconds”
Although he finished ahead of Sergio Pérez on the track, Charles Leclerc lost his position after a penalty. ©DPPI
A penalty that costs a title? Not really, but a bitter-tasting penalty for Charles Leclerc and the whole clan Ferrari. So under pressure from Sergio Pérez on the last lap of the Japanese Grand Prix, the Monegasque was missed in the final braking and was forced to short-circuit the chicane thus gaining an advantage over the Mexican. An incident immediately noted by management whose decision was ultimately not long in coming.
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As he was preparing to join the cool room before getting on the podium, Charles Leclerc received a 5-second penalty, thus losing his 2e place to the detriment of Sergio Pérez. A surprising sanction for the Scuderia as it was decided quickly whereas a week earlier it had been necessary to wait long after the arrival of the Singapore Grand Prix to know the Mexican's penalty for non-compliance with the Safety Car procedure.
" (I am) very surprised and very disappointed, underlined Mattia Binotto, pointing out in particular the difference in speed in decision-making on the part of the FIA. Seven days after Singapore, where they took a lot of turns to decide (if an investigation was going to be opened), then after the race because they had to listen to the drivers to make a simple and obvious decision, today they make it in a few seconds. I am surprised by such different behaviors between Singapore and here, in just a few days."
If the Italians say “ accepter » the sanction even if they believe that Charles Leclerc “ did not gain any advantage » on Sergio Pérez, Mattia Binotto regrets that the two cases (Singapore and Japan) were not judged in the same way. According to him, his driver could perhaps have fought for victory a week earlier if we took “ directly the decision when it is obvious, as it should be. » A good point raised by the manager of Ferrari which the FIA should seriously consider soon.
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Gonzalo Forbes
In charge of promotion formulas (F2, F3, FRECA, F4...). Carried by the grace of Franco Colapinto.
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Mauro Caldi
09/10/2022 at 09:44 a.m.
Completely logical and indisputable penalty... so the race organization applied it without delay and especially before the podium (we criticize them enough for waiting too long to make decisions on incidents). Binotto shows once again that he is an amateur who is out of place at all...
09/10/2022 at 09:32 a.m.
Ferrari surprised and disappointed by Leclerc’s penalty applied in “a few seconds”! OK, not wrong... but shouldn't Ferrari be rather disappointed in 2022 by its multiple lame strategies and its lack of instructions?