Leclerc penalized in Monaco, Ocon big winner

Has his first podium at the Monaco Grand Prix slipped away again? Already unhappy during his previous visits to his lands, Charles Leclerc must tell himself that he is cursed at home. Third in qualifying behind Fernando Alonso and the poleman Max Verstappen, the Monegasque still had to go through the race direction box. In question ? Possible involuntary discomfort on Lando Norris then on a fast lap at the end of Q3.

In the images, the discomfort is clear since the pilot McLaren was forced to immediately abort his attempt while Charles Leclerc prepared to return to the pits. This therefore earned them a summons from which the local got away with a penalty. Found guilty, the representative of the Team Ferrari received a penalty of three places, falling from 3rd to 6th position on the starting grid for the Monaco Grand Prix. Here is the explanation from the commissioners who heard the two men:

« The stewards heard from the driver of car 16 (Charles Leclerc), the driver of car 4 (Lando Norris), team representatives and reviewed the positioning system and marshalls data, video, data timing, team radio and video evidence from the car. Leclerc has completed his final lap of Q3 and is approaching turn 10. Norris, who was on a fast lap, caught Leclerc in the middle of the tunnel and was clearly hampered. Both drivers agreed that there was little Leclerc could have done safely in the tunnel to avoid obstructing Norris, given the difficulty of vision due to the light entering the tunnel and the change in line of sight. one side of the tunnel to the other.

As a result, the stewards observed that Leclerc reacted sensibly to a blue flag displayed by the stewards, but by that stage it was too late. However, the stewards reviewed the team radio, and Leclerc's team did not warn him of Norris's approach until the latter was already directly behind him. Additionally, the discussion during the earlier part of the track was entirely about the competing drivers, and not the traffic behind, which is an essential task at this circuit. The commissioners believe that Leclerc could have done a lot before the tunnel to avoid the embarrassment if he had been warned by the team at the appropriate time, especially considering that Norris' approach was clear on the system of signaling. The commissioners therefore consider that the inconvenience was not justified. Commissioners reviewed all unnecessary nuisance penalties issued in recent years. In all cases, the team's actions or inaction failed to alleviate the unnecessary embarrassment. The commissioners therefore imposed the usual penalty of a drop of three places »

A closer look at the incident between Norris and Leclerc in the tunnel 👀#MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/uxp1jIRhq1

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 27, 2023

Initially 4th, Esteban Ocon is the big winner in history since he will start 3rd and now has a very good chance of getting on the podium. Carlos Sainz et Lewis Hamilton gain a position on the starting grid for the Monaco Grand Prix.

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