FIA fine Ferrari over strange Charles Leclerc Canadian GP infringement
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on the intermediate tyres.
Charles Leclerc faced a trip to the stewards regarding an infringement over use of the intermediate tyres at the Canadian GP, with Ferrari hit with a €5000 fine.
Changeable weather was a feature of Friday practice in Montreal, the FP2 session beginning with a greasy track which blurred the line between intermediate and dry tyres.
Charles Leclerc and Ferrari went too soon with inters
Leclerc had the inters fitted for his first foray onto the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve of the session, though Ferrari sent him out before the track was declared wet, which is needed to permit the use of wet tyres.
The stewards therefore summoned Leclerc to speak with them after the session over a very uncommon infringement, deciding on a €5000 fine for Ferrari for the regulatory breach.
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“The stewards heard from the team representative and reviewed video evidence,” their report began.
“Car 16 left the pit lane on intermediate tyres at the beginning of the session despite the fact that the track had not been declared wet and returned to the pits after one lap.
“This constitutes a breach of Art 30.5 l) which only permits the use of intermediate or wet weather tyres after the track has been declared wet by the race director.”
The weather conditions meant that the timings screen for both FP1 and FP2 was not fully representative, though Ferrari will have been encouraged to see both Carlos Sainz and Leclerc in the top three for FP1, while Leclerc was the highest-placed Ferrari in FP2 in P4.
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