Charles Leclerc received a €11,000 (£10,000 approx.) fine, with half suspended, for using offensive language during a press conference following last week’s Mexican Grand Prix.
In a tense moment, while battling Lando Norris, the Ferrari driver veered off track but expertly controlled an oversteer to avoid the barriers at high speed.
“I had one oversteer and then when I recovered from that oversteer, I had an oversteer from the other side and then I was like, ‘f***’,” Leclerc said as he reflected on the incident in a press conference.
The Monagasque soon realized that he could face a Formula One community service penalty, like Max Verstappen, who was the first to be sanctioned under the governing body’s crackdown on offensive language.
“Oh, sorry! Oh no, I don’t want to join Max,” Leclerc laughed. However, he was called to the stewards in Brazil and likely feared the worst, but ultimately received a fine instead of community service. The Ferrari man’s remorse and acknowledgment of his mistake, in stark contrast to Verstappen’s reaction, led to him receiving a different penalty than his rival.
The FIA’s statement explained: “Leclerc used coarse language being the accurate recollection of what he thought to himself at the time. Leclerc immediately realized his error and apologized. Such language is not considered suitable for broadcast.
“During the hearing, Leclerc expressed his regret for his momentary lack of judgment and shared that he understood his responsibility as a role model for the sport. The stewards considered the mitigation factor that Leclerc was immediately apologetic.
“The stewards while noting the driver’s contrite behavior conclude that a breach has occurred and a penalty is warranted. The stewards do not consider that this breach reached the same level as the most recent case and as such chose to levy a fine of €10,000 (£8,400) with €5,000 (£4,200) suspended pending no repeat within 12 months.”
🚨 Charles Leclerc has been handed a €10k fine for swearing in the post-race press conference last Sunday.
€5k of that fine is suspended on the condition that there's no repeat.
Leclerc's immediate apology meant he avoided a harsher penalty. pic.twitter.com/AEIo49z2tx
— The Race (@wearetherace) November 1, 2024
While Leclerc handled the situation gracefully and accepted his penalty, Verstappen attended the post-qualifying FIA press conference on Saturday (Singapore Grand Prix), answering questions with minimal engagement, but agreed to give more detailed responses to journalists outside the official session, which he did in the paddock.
After the race, Verstappen maintained this restrained approach in the press conference, again providing brief answers and saving more in-depth responses for reporters afterward. He even threatened to quit F1 if they continued to hand over these ‘silly penalties’.
FIA fining drivers for abusing
The FIA President confirmed that the “misconduct” section of the International Sporting Code has been amended, following research in partnership with the United Against Online Abuse lobby, which showed that drivers’ criticisms of race officials, whether in post-race interviews or team radio messages, can incite online abuse among viewers.
“As part of our ongoing fight against online abuse, recent investigations have shown that there is a direct link between negative comments from drivers and team members and increased hate directed towards officials on social media,” said Ben Sulayem.
The statement indicated more fines and penalties would be awarded to the drivers and teams which is something we have seen in the recent past with Verstappen and Leclerc.
Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
