Doc 79 - Infringement - Car 16 - Causing a collision
Infringements/Decisions
2026 São Paulo Grand Prix - Document 79
Session: Race
No / Driver: 16 - Charles Leclerc (Scuderia Ferrari HP)
Fact: Car 16 made contact with Car 30 (Liam Lawson) in Turn 12 at 15:36.
Infringement: Breach of Appendix L, Chapter IV, Article 2 d) of the FIA International Sporting Code.
Decision
- Penalty: 5 second time penalty (5 seconds added to elapsed Race time).
Reason
- The Stewards reviewed positioning/marshalling data, video, and in-car footage, and heard from both drivers and team representatives.
- Incident Analysis:
- Car 16 made contact with Car 30 at Turn 12.
- Although the contact was minor and Car 30 initially maintained the lead, the contact damaged Car 30's rear-left rim and allowed Car 16 to get closer and overtake 5 corners later.
- Under the Driving Standard Guidelines, Car 30 was entitled to the corner, and Car 16 was responsible for avoiding a collision.
- Sporting Consequence: The Stewards concluded that the contact clearly disrupted Car 30 and enabled Car 16 to pull up alongside, representing a clear sporting consequence.
- Mitigation: Wet conditions and the minor nature of the contact were taken into account, resulting in a 5-second penalty instead of a 10-second penalty.