New F1 result in Brazil! 3 penalties after the chequered flag

No fewer than three drivers were handed a 5-second penalty after the chequered flag was waved in Brazil: Ferrari star Charles Leclerc, Haas driver Ollie Bearman and Mercedes champion Kimi Antonelli were all penalised by Nish Shetty, Loïc Bacquelaine, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Felipe Maluhy for committing various offences.

Leclerc was hit harder by the penalty than his fellow drivers, as the five-second penalty saw him slip from seventh to eighth place. The Monegasque driver from the Ferrari team was also the only one penalised for causing a collision. This occurred during a battle with Liam Lawson at the twelfth corner. The race stewards concluded that Leclerc had gained an advantage in the battle as a result of the unfortunate contact.

Mitigating circumstances: Ferrari star Charles Leclerc – a blessing in disguise

Lawson told the stewards that his left rear wheel rim had been damaged by the collision, whilst Leclerc described it as a minor contact. The race stewards deemed that the New Zealander’s race had been compromised; furthermore, they concluded that the Racing Bulls driver had right of way into the corner and that the responsibility for navigating it smoothly therefore lay with Leclerc. However, they accepted the difficult conditions and the fact that it was a relatively minor contact as mitigating factors. Consequently, the Ferrari driver did not receive a 10-second penalty.

Antonelli and Bearman were each handed a 5-second penalty; both were penalised for incidents during their pit stops, for which their teams were held responsible. Bearman was sent back out after his stop just as Leclerc came roaring down the pit lane, whilst Antonelli had a moment of panic involving Franco Colapinto. For both drivers, the penalty made no difference to their race positions, as they had crossed the line with a sufficient lead over their nearest rivals. Antonelli therefore retained fifth place and Bearman remained in seventeenth.