(Motorsport-Total.com) – Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc both received time penalties after the Miami Grand Prix. While Max Verstappen does not lose a position with an additional five seconds, the Monegasque drops from sixth to eighth place with a 20-second time penalty. Lewis Hamilton and Franco Colapinto each move up one position.
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Verstappen was penalized after the Grand Prix for crossing the line at the pit exit. Although this offense was already noted during the race, it was decided shortly afterward to make the decision only after the finish.
Niels Wittich, former Formula 1 race director, shared his thoughts on the Sky broadcast: “You probably want to interfere as little as possible in the race with any decisions and be absolutely sure that you make the right one.”
“I find it a bit strange because from the onboard footage it already looked quite clear, and all these data and videos are also available to the stewards.”
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“And if I remember correctly, there is also a relatively good pit exit camera that covers this exactly. You could already see at the start the drone shot right above turn 1. All of this is clearly visible, so I would say it should actually be possible to settle or handle it during the race. But well, obviously they are taking the safe route.”
Nevertheless, the Red Bull driver remains behind George Russell in fifth place and can take ten championship points. Leclerc, on the other hand, was penalized for repeatedly cutting the track.
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Chaos in the last lap
In the last lap, the Ferrari driver crashed into the wall after spinning at the exit of turn three. As a result, his SF-26 was barely controllable in right-hand corners.
“Due to this problem, he was forced to cut the chicanes on the way to the finish line,” states the FIA ruling.
“We concluded that the fact that he had to cut the chicanes (i.e., left the track) meant that he gained a lasting advantage by leaving the track in these ways.”
Originally, a drive-through penalty was imposed on Leclerc. Since this cannot be served after the race, it was converted into a time penalty. The damage to the Monegasque’s car is not considered an excuse by the race stewards.
Added to this in the last lap was the pushing out of Avid Lindblad and a collision with George Russell, for which there were no penalties. “My mistake [in turn three] is unacceptable and must not happen,” the Ferrari driver summarized after the race.
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