Sunday, December 22, 2024

Ferrari slapped with fine for bizarre Leclerc rules breach

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Ferrari has been fined €5,000 by Canadian Grand Prix stewards for an unusual rules breach concerning Charles Leclerc in Free Practice 2. 

At the start of the second session, with rain threatening to fall, the field was eager to get out on track, doing so on slick tyres, as Leclerc waited in the garage.

Team-mate Carlos Sainz went out on mediums, but Ferrari quickly bolted a set of intermediate tyres onto Leclerc’s SF-24, who then took to the track.

However, intermediate and wet tyres may only be used when the race director has declared the track to be wet – something laid out in Article 30.5.L of the Sporting Regulations. 

This had not been declared by Niels Wittich, and therefore, the stewards found Leclerc, who only completed one lap before boxing as Ferrari realised the error, in breach of the regulation.

For this, the team was fined €5,000. 

Leclerc finished FP2 in fourth place with Sainz 13th, although lap-times were not representative owing to the mixed and wet conditions.

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