Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari team has been fined €5,000 after the driver arrived late to Thursday’s FIA-scheduled press conference.
The FIA announced on Thursday that Leclerc, as well as Lando Norris, were under investigation after arriving late to Thursday’s FIA press conference at the Monaco Grand Prix.
FIA verdict on Charles Leclerc’s Monaco GP press conference breach
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The two were on the roster to attend Thursday’s opening press conference, along with Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto, which was scheduled to begin at 1430 local time.
It, however, started a couple of minutes later than planned after Leclerc and Norris arrived late.
Both drivers were summoned to the stewards’ office on Friday morning, Leclerc’s hearing the first to take place.
The stewards heard from the driver and a representative of Ferrari, who explained that the driver had been delayed at a previous commitment.
However, the stewards in their ruling noted that “in accordance with Article 9.15.1 of the FIA International Sporting Code, the Competitor is responsible for the actions of its driver” and therefore handed Ferrari a €5,000 fine for breaching Article B10.1.1.a of the FIA F1 Regulations and Articles 12.2.1.i and 12.2.1.p of the FIA International Sporting Code.
This fine is suspended for a period of 12 months subject to no further breach of a similar nature.
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Leclerc will take to the track in FP1 as the favourite for the Monaco Grand Prix win, at least according to his rivals.
The Monegasque won the 2024 edition of the race, leading from lights to flag, but all too often has fallen to his Monaco curse with crashes, punctures, driveshaft issues and poor strategies costing him at his home circuit.
Put to him that he was being billed as the favourite, he told PlanetF1.com and other media: “No.
“I think we are in a better place. I mean, if there’s one track I would bet on us, it’s probably Monaco.
“However, I still believe that Mercedes have had a significant advantage since the beginning of the year, so I think they will be very strong.
“I think McLaren will be very strong as well. I think Red Bull will be very strong.
“But it’s true that on the other tracks so far, we’ve been struggling quite a bit on the straights, which should be less of a problem. We have a strong package chassis-wise and aero-wise, so I think it could help us.
“But Mercedes, I think, will still remain the team to beat.”
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