Ferrari has been handed a €10,000 fine for unsafely releasing Charles Leclerc into the path of McLaren’s Lando Norris during Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix practice.
During Friday night’s second practice, Leclerc was sent out of the Ferrari garage into the path of Norris. The ensuing contact caused damage to Norris’ front wing, with the Briton having to be pulled back into his garage to replace it.
Upon further investigation the FIA race stewards held the Ferrari team responsible for what it called a misjudgement, and it handed the Italian squad a €10,000 fine.
“After a red flag period, several cars exited their garages. Car 16 (LEC) was initially instructed by a team member to leave his pitbox. At that moment however, it was overlooked that car 4 (NOR) was already passing in the fast lane, approaching the Ferrari pitbox and directly into the path of LEC,” the FIA stewards decision document stated.
“The team member, who was responsible for the safe conduct of releasing car 16, misjudged the situation and gave unclear instructions to LEC, who could not see NOR’s car. As a result, both cars collided in the fast lane.
“Having noted precedents for this type of breach, the Stewards are of the view that this breach warrants a more severe penalty than previously applied hence the penalty above is imposed.”
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images
Leclerc said there was some confusion at Ferrari because both McLarens were sent out in quick succession.
“It was a bit of confusion with the two McLarens going out,” Leclerc said. “It looked like they were going out at the same time.
“So he [his mechanic] thought that they would go out a bit slow, and so I didn’t have the message to stop. In these cases, you kind of rely on the team.
“But these things happen, and it was also in a tricky moment because with all the red flags, everybody was in such a rush to get out to do some laps. So, it’s a combination of things. It’s not something you want, but these things happen.”
The incident added to a messy second practice session, which was red flagged twice for on-track incidents involving George Russell and Liam Lawson, disrupting the teams’ long run plans.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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