Charles Leclerc left the Sao Paulo Grand Prix with a different result than the one he crossed the line with. After a post-race review, the stewards gave Leclerc a five-second penalty for contact with Liam Lawson on the final laps, and that dropped him from seventh to eighth at Interlagos.
The decision came after a race that had already been chaotic for Leclerc. He described his opening stint at Interlagos as horrendous before recovering in the rain as the conditions worsened. But on the penultimate lap, the fight for seventh turned into the key flashpoint.
What happened in the Leclerc-Lawson battle
Leclerc and Lawson were disputing seventh place when Leclerc tapped Lawson's left rear wheel at Turn 12. Leclerc then got by five corners later, but the stewards said Lawson had the right to the corner under the Driving Standard Guidelines and that Leclerc should have taken the necessary steps to avoid the collision.
The stewards heard from both drivers, team representatives and reviewed positioning data, marshalling system data, video and in-car video evidence before making their call. They said the contact was minor, but they also concluded it had a sporting impact because it allowed Leclerc to get closer and eventually overtake Lawson.
In their explanation, the stewards said the contact clearly disrupted Lawson and helped Leclerc pull alongside when he had been further back before the touch. Because of the wet conditions and the minor nature of the incident, the stewards chose a five-second penalty instead of a 10-second sanction.
Antonelli's penalty did not change fifth
Kimi Antonelli also received a five-second penalty after the race for an unsafe release, but unlike Leclerc, it did not change his finishing position. Antonelli stayed fifth because his margin over sixth-placed Oscar Piastri was large enough to absorb the penalty.
The stewards said Antonelli was released in an unsafe manner when another car was approaching in the fast lane. They added that while he was allowed to travel down the pit lane in parallel to cars in the fast lane, he momentarily lost control on the slippery surface and had to take steps to avoid a collision, creating a potentially unsafe situation.
The team acknowledged the release could have been handled better and more safely.
In the end, the post-race decisions changed Leclerc's result but left Antonelli's intact. That made the final classification at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix look different from the one that stood at the flag, with Leclerc falling to eighth and Antonelli keeping fifth.
