F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Ferrari pitwall 'forgot' to tell Leclerc about Vettel penalty!

Ferrari's strategists were so absorbed with Sebastian Vettel's time penalty in Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix that they forgot to tell Charles Leclerc about it.

Vettel won on the track in Montreal, but a five-second time penalty handed to the German by the stewards for unsafely rejoining the track after a mishap at the Turn 3-4 chicane demoted the German from first to second behind official winner Lewis Hamilton.

Leclerc clocked in third, seven seconds behind Vettel on the track, but was uninformed about his team mate's penalty, so therefore made no attempt to snatch second from the German.

However, had the Monegasque succeeded in clinching the runner-up spot it would not have changed the Scuderia's points tally.

"I was not aware at all," Leclerc said. "I pushed, but I didn’t know what was going on in front.

"I didn’t know Seb had a penalty. I was just pushing in case something happened in front, to be there if I had an opportunity.

"But I was not aware of the five seconds penalty so no, I only did my own race."

Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto said the omission had not been deliberate.

"We didn’t [inform Leclerc], it was a mistake from our side," admitted the Swiss.

"We are very busy on the pit wall. We forgot. We should have done it, but we didn’t."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Sky F1’s Croft hints at major McLaren push for Miami

A familiar storyline may be about to unfold in Formula 1 – one where McLaren…

1 hour ago

Bearman’s rise leaves Komatsu in awe: ‘I don’t see the ceiling’

Momentum is building inside the Haas F1 Team, and much of it is surging from…

3 hours ago

Karting legend manager warns Lindblad: 'Be political and polite’

Legendary karting coach and talent scout Dino Chiesa has drawn striking parallels between Lewis Hamilton…

5 hours ago

Antonelli visits ‘The Doctor’ at the Ranch

F1 world championship leader Kimi Antonelli made good use of his easter weekend to make…

6 hours ago

Verstappen’s inner circle at Red Bull takes another hit

Fresh uncertainty appears to be brewing inside Red Bull Racing, with reports suggesting one of…

7 hours ago

Hamilton on silencing the critics: ‘I still have what it takes’

Three races into Ferrari’s 2026 campaign, Lewis Hamilton looks rejuvenated – his voice steadier, his…

8 hours ago