Leclerc Critiques F1's Flawed Penalty System

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc voices concerns over F1’s current penalty system. He suggests that grid penalties might be a more equitable solution than the existing time penalties.

Charles Leclerc disapproves of the current penalty system in F1 racing. The Ferrari driver argues that imposing time penalties lacks logic, as it can cost positions very differently. He believes that directly imposing grid penalties would be a better solution.

“I think there’s something we need to look at regarding the penalty we receive,” Leclerc stated. “We’ve been working with time penalties for a long time, which, in my view, is a bit of a mistake, because you’re somewhat a victim of your own luck.”

“If you have a safety car two laps from the finish, which could have been the case in this scenario, then you go from fifth to last place. If you’re in a position like Fernando’s in Australia, you only lose two places. So I think there’s something to examine here, to do better in the future.”

“I’ve always thought grid penalties were fairer, because whatever the race situation you are in, you are penalized. You are penalized as you are supposed to be. On the other hand, with time penalties, there can be inconsistencies, depending on the race situation.”

Leclerc thinks Fernando Alonso deserved to be penalized in Melbourne: “I think what Fernando did is something we do as drivers, but not to that extent. And it was too much. What Fernando did in Australia was excessive and needed to be penalized.”

The Monegasque would appreciate more precise regulations, although he believes some penalties are well thought out: “I think what we can and cannot do is clear. We can always try to write it in a better way to make it even clearer. However, I really believe that common sense is sometimes the way to go.”

“We will never be able to write in the rules every possible scenario of each situation, and there may be situations where it is clear to everyone, especially to the drivers, that someone deserves a penalty, even if that particular scenario isn’t written in the rules. So I think common sense should be used in some cases, and that was the case here.”