Leclerc learns FIA penalty fate after F-word error

Charles Leclerc has been punished by the FIA after he accidentally said the F-word in an official press conference following securing third place at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

However, it is not an equal penalty to the one incurred by Max Verstappen for swearing ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, as the stewards in Brazil have opted to fine the Ferrari driver.

As outlined in the official decision document: “The driver is fined €10,000, €5,000 of which is suspended on condition that there is no further breach of a similar nature within the next 12 months.”

When describing the incident that lost him second place at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the 26-year-old said to media including RacingNews365: “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***!’.

When the media in attendance reacted, Leclerc knew his mistake, adding: “Sorry! Oh no! Oh nooo! I don’t want to join Max [laughs]”, before concluding, “Then I was just hoping to bring the car to the finish line and get that third place.”

It took the governing body almost a week to come to a decision, a delay that prompted Max Verstappen to question the lack of equal treatment for the Ferrari driver during the pre-Sao Paulo Grand Prix drivers’ FIA press conference.

The Dutchman was handed what is akin to community service in September, after he used the same swear word in Thursday FIA press conference ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.

In response, the Red Bull driver limited his answers in the subsequent official sessions for the duration of the event, instead opting to hold his own media scrums outside in the F1 paddock.