‘Shame for the Penalty’: Charles Leclerc Reacts After Late Setback at São Paulo GP

Charles Leclerc endured yet another challenging outing with Ferrari at F1’s latest race in São Paulo. Serving a 10-place grid penalty for taking on a new power unit component, the Monegasque had to start the race in P14. Reflecting on a tough outing, made worse by a late penalty, Leclerc took to social media to share his true feelings on the weekend.

“Starting fourteenth, finished eighth. We have a lot of work to do in these conditions as it was another tough wet race,” wrote Leclerc in a post on his Instagram. “Lots of learnings though, which I hope will help us do a step forward. Shame for the penalty at the end, I enjoyed the fight.”

When the checkered flag waved, Leclerc’s was the seventh car to cross the line, but a five-second penalty for colliding with Liam Lawson further damaged his race, ultimately classifying him in P8.

The late penalty added to Leclerc’s frustrations after an afternoon in which he had fought hard to recover positions. Despite the setback, his comments suggested that he had enjoyed the competitive battles on track. The eighth-place finish, however, meant that his efforts did not translate into the result he would have wanted.

Liam Lawson Takes Aim at Charles Leclerc

Leclerc‘s original finish in P7 came as a result of a clumsy tap on the rear-left wheel of Lawson’s Racing Bulls, unsettling the latter. Both drivers were summoned by the stewards after the race, particularly given Leclerc was able to build a two-second lead over the New Zealander.

Asked for his perspective on the incident, Lawson drew a comparison between Leclerc’s Brazil move and those that he saw during his F2 days. In 2017, the Monegasque driver would similarly tap the rear-left wheel of Alex Albon, wrecking the Thai driver’s momentum.

This allowed Leclerc to move past Albon and take the race win in Abu Dhabi, and Lawson feels that the No. 16 driver replicated the same move on him in F1. Taking a dig at his Ferrari rival, Lawson wondered, “Maybe it’s his specialty. I don’t know if it’s legal or not.”

Ultimately, though, it all played out in favor of the Kiwi driver, who earned back his P7 position, thanks to the penalty handed out by the stewards.

The Race in Brazil Was Like Playing the Lottery for Charles Leclerc

With Max Verstappen staging yet another comeback in Brazil, many wondered why Ferrari wasn’t able to reciprocate a similar run. The answer to this comes down largely to poor tire temperature management from the Italian outfit. But looking back at the São Paulo race, Leclerc felt it was a lottery that didn’t play out in their favor.

Per Leclerc, driving the Ferrari in the rain is similar to playing the lottery. Things will either work out in their favor, or they’ll completely fall apart. If they’re lucky, Ferrari will be the best of the bunch, but on the flip side, the SF-26 will be a “nightmare to drive.” As such, Leclerc knows that his team still has a lot of work to do.

While running in wet conditions wasn’t an optimal situation for Ferrari and Leclerc, things would take a much better turn when the slicks came on. With the second part of the race going “quite good,” Leclerc decided to stay patient and work his way through the grid, that is, until Lawson started his defense.

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