Autobayng News Team
Charles Leclerc and Gabriel Bortoleto avoid penalties after the stewards investigated them over separate incidents during practice.
The stewards summoned the Ferrari driver to determine whether he failed to switch off his car and put it in neutral gear after he stopped due to a technical problem in the second practice session. Leclerc pulled into the run-off area at turn five reporting trouble with his gearbox.
Leclerc told them he had been unable to select neutral and that the marshals at the scene had also tried to do the same without success. The situation was complicated by confusion among the marshals over whether Leclerc’s car had suffered an electrical fault and was safe to touch.
“The driver explained that prior to stepping out of the car, he tried to put it in neutral but he could not do so,” said the stewards in a statement. “He then switched off the car and left the car. The marshals tried to put the car in neutral but could not.
“The driver then tried to assist the marshals by switching the car back on to attempt to put it in neutral however the marshals, in the belief the car was unsafe, asked him not to.
“Finally he persuaded the marshals that the car was safe, and turned off the power.”
Having accepted Leclerc took the necessary steps after parking his car, the stewards decided to issue no penalty.
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Bortoleto faced an investigation over whether he failed to slow for yellow flags at turn 12. The stewards cleared him after accepting he had backed off sufficiently.
“[Bortoleto] stated that he braked as soon as he saw the yellow flag and this was verified by the telemetry,” the stewards noted. “His speed was 9kph slower compared to the same position on his next lap.
“As this was on a [low] speed corner, the stewards determined that the driver was capable of changing direction as required by the regulation.”
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