What Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz did wrong in Formula One qualifying at Monza and why there was still no penalty
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz committed a rule violation in Formula 1 qualifying for the 2023 Italian Grand Prix at Monza by exceeding the maximum time allowed per lap in Q1. This behaviour was not penalised. But why did the stewards of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) decide to acquit them?
The reasons for the verdict state: “Both drivers acted appropriately, slowed down and pulled to the side of the track to stay out of the way of other drivers. Both did this very clearly, allowing four riders to pass and a clear track. Therefore, the stewards conclude that they were not ‘unnecessarily slow’.”
For the stewards, it is clear Leclerc and Sainz only stayed “slightly” over the maximum time because they did not want to get in anyone’s way. “That’s what the rules say,” Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur told Sky. “It’s allowed to go over the maximum time if you slow down to let someone pass. And that’s what happened. “
“Exceptional circumstances” let Ferrari off scot-free
Because in Niels Wittich’s race director’s notes for the Italian Grand Prix, point 4.2 reads: The maximum time may only be exceeded in “exceptional circumstances” and only if the stewards deem these exceptional circumstances permissible.
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz insists on these exceptional circumstances when he says: “I had to slow down so much in order not to be in the way of other cars on fast laps. It was almost impossible to keep to the lap time set by the race director.”
He said he was sure that if he had only been concerned about keeping to the maximum time, it would have been too tight on the track. “Then I would have hindered my opponents,” Sainz says. “That’s why we played it safe and preferred not to hinder anyone. And even if I was a second or two over the maximum time because of that, it seemed more sensible to me to stay out of the way. “
Sainz had not expected a penalty
The decision by the stewards came at the end of qualifying and not after qualifying as initially announced. Sainz therefore learned of his acquittal in the press conference, but had already stated beforehand that he had “no worries” that a penalty could follow because he had acted correctly in his eyes.
For Ferrari, it was the most successful performance in Formula 1 qualifying so far in the 2023 season, with Sainz and Leclerc finishing first and third respectively.
