Charles Leclerc’s 3-Place grid penalty exposes Ferrari’s communication failure at the Austrian Sprint

Charles Leclerc had previously received a grid drop at the Monaco Grand Prix for blocking Lando Norris.

Charles Leclerc’s 3-Place grid penalty exposes Ferrari’s communication failure at the Austrian Sprint

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc (Image credit: Yahoo Sport Australia)

Charles Leclerc has received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri in the Sprint Shootout. As a result, Leclerc’s starting position in the sprint race has been shifted from sixth to ninth. During the initial phase of the Shootout, Charles Leclerc obstructed Piastri, impacting the Australian rookie’s performance. This interference also affected Piastri’s teammate, Lando Norris, who ultimately secured a commendable third-place finish.

The stewards expressed their opinion that Ferrari’s communication had been inadequate. They stated that, despite acknowledging that the driver was not entirely at fault, the primary factor leading to the incident was the team’s lack of communication. They concluded that a grid position penalty should be enforced because Car 81 had been “unnecessarily impeded,” emphasizing that the situation could have been avoided without a doubt.

The FIA’s report stated, “This was not entirely the fault of the driver, and that the team’s lack of communication was the major contributing factor. A grid position penalty must be imposed as Car 81 was ‘unnecessarily impeded’, because there is no doubt that the situation could have been avoided.”

Also read: Charles Leclerc throws shade at Max Verstappen following the Ferrari driver’s ‘bittersweet’ defeat in the Austrian GP qualifiers

Charles Leclerc to bear the consequences of Ferrari’s errors

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Charles Leclerc at the Red Bull ring (Image credit: Racingnews365)

Consequently, Charles Leclerc will commence the Saturday sprint race from the ninth position. Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, and Esteban Ocon, as a result, would move up one place. This season is not the first instance where Ferrari has failed to provide sufficient warning to Leclerc, and the driver has faced the consequences.

During the Monaco Grand Prix, Leclerc also obstructed a McLaren car. But on that occasion, it was Lando Norris who encountered the slow-moving vehicle of Leclerc as they entered the tunnel. At that time, Leclerc’s race engineer, Xavier Marcos Padros, had been relaying information about Max Verstappen’s speed instead of alerting Leclerc about approaching drivers.

On the other hand, Leclerc indicated that his team should have provided him with greater advance notice. “Had I been given a warning, I could have taken action earlier,” he said. Simultaneously, the Ferrari representative conceded that the pit wall’s performance “Could have been improved.”

After a promising qualifying session on Friday, many set high expectations for the Scuderia. However, after both the Ferrari drivers were out-qualified by Nico Hulkenberg in a Haas, the hype quickly fell. However, drivers like Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, and Lance Stroll have massively benefitted from Leclerc’s setback.

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