Charles Leclerc's Costly Penalty at F1 Miami Grand Prix Explained

Charles Leclerc was given a 20-second penalty by Formula 1's race stewards after the Miami Grand Prix, but why?

The Ferrari driver had occupied third for much of the race, but on the penultimate lap at the Miami International Autodrome, McLaren's Oscar Piastri moved into the final podium spot in his McLaren.

As Leclerc tried to press the Australian into the final lap and regain position, he spun at Turn 3, hitting the wall on the left-hand side of his car.

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc (16) during the Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

After crawling around the track, the Monegasque was ultimately caught and passed by George Russell at Turn 17 and then Max Verstappen on the run to the chequered flag.

But after two separate investigations - one for driving a car in an unsafe condition and the other for leaving the track on multiple occasions - Leclerc was dropped from sixth to eighth in the race classifications.

Leclerc's penalty explained

A stewards' report explained: "Car 16 spun on the last lap at turn 3 and hit the wall but continued on track. The driver informed us that the car appeared fine, save that the car would not negotiate the right-hand corners properly. Given this problem, he was forced to cut chicanes on the way to the chequered flag.

"We determined that the fact that he had to cut the chicanes (i.e. to leave the track) meant that he gained a lasting advantage by leaving the track in that manner. The fact that he had a mechanical issue of some sort did not amount to a justifiable reason.

Why Charles Leclerc was handed a 20-second time penalty post-race ‼️

The penalty was given for leaving the track “on several occasions without a justifiable reason” on the final lap in Miami ⬇️#F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/QykWLsnF5B
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 3, 2026

"We accordingly impose a Drive Through penalty on Car 16, given the number of times the car left the track and gained an advantage. We also considered whether there was an additional breach in continuing to drive a car with an obvious and discernible mechanical issue.

"We determined that there was no evidence of there being an obvious of discernible mechanical issue. We therefore took no further action in relation to that potential infringement."

Verstappen's penalty explained

Verstappen was also penalized post-race, following an investigation into the Red Bull driver crossing the white line denoting pit exit early in the race.

The Dutchman had spun at Turn 2 on the opening lap to drop from second down the field, albeit fighting back to sit eighth at the start of lap two.

Max's spin/save is even more satisfying in slow motion 👌 #F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/czEnKjyeqZ
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 4, 2026

Trying to further mend the damage done to his race, he pitted under safety car conditions after crashes for teammate Isack Hadjar and Alpine's Pierre Gasly, only to cross the white line when returning to the track.

But the stewards opted to look at the incident after the race despite transgressions of this nature usually resulting in an open-and-closed decision.

Explaining why this was the case when handing out his punishment, another stewards' report read:

"When the incident occurred there was limited video evidence to make a clear decision on whether an infringement had occurred. We therefore decided to investigate the incident after the race, to see if we could get better video evidence of the incident in the meantime, perhaps from other angles. We were able to do so.

"The new angles did show more views of the pit exit line and the incident in question. The driver of Car 3 explained that he was driving out of the pit exit and rejoined the race under full course yellow.

"The Stewards determined that the outside of the front left-hand tyre did cross the outside of the solid white pit exit line in violation of Appendix L, Chapter IV Article 6 c) of the International Sporting Code. Given the nature of the infraction the Stewards elected to impose a penalty of 5 seconds."

Verstappen's penalty did not affect his finishing position of fifth.

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