– Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc received a 20-second time penalty after the 2026 Miami Grand Prix, which dropped him from sixth to eighth place. But because the TV cameras focused on Kimi Antonelli’s victory in the Mercedes in the last lap, it initially remained unclear exactly how Leclerc had broken the rules.
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Only the judgment of the race stewards brought clarity hours after the finish: Leclerc had “cut corners” in several places with a damaged car and gained an advantage off the track.
On the Monday after the Grand Prix, Formula 1 finally provided the “video evidence”: A clip shared on social networks first shows the accident at the start of the last lap and then the scenes where Leclerc leaves the track. At times, Leclerc moved several meters beside the normal line in the Ferrari and did not give the impression that he was trying to keep the ideal line.
How the race stewards and Leclerc himself assess the scenes
Even before the penalty by the race stewards, Leclerc had justified his actions with damage to the car: “I’m pretty sure I had a flat tire, and probably the suspension was also damaged. I basically couldn’t steer to the right anymore.”
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The race stewards explained: “Technical problems alone were not a valid reason to leave the track here. And because he cut corners multiple times in the chicanes, he gained an advantage.”
Leclerc took responsibility for the accident and penalty himself: “I am very disappointed in myself. Because this is entirely on me. This is unacceptable.”
Leclerc had lost third place to McLaren driver Oscar Piastri in the penultimate lap of the Miami Grand Prix. After his accident at the start of the last lap, he fell behind George Russell in the Mercedes and Max Verstappen in the Red Bull in the last meters. After the penalty was applied, he ended up behind his Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton as well as behind Alpine driver Franco Colapinto.
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