The Ferrari driver says the five-second penalty for passing his team mate off track on lap one was fair, while calling the fight part of racing.
Charles Leclerc has said the five-second penalty he received in the Mexico City Grand Prix was deserved. He was penalised for passing Ferrari team mate Lewis Hamilton off track during an opening-lap fight for the lead, after both cars went wide at Turn 4.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc accepts that his five-second time penalty on Sunday was fair. He was sanctioned after overtaking team mate Lewis Hamilton while off the track, in the fight for the lead at the start of the race.
The two Ferraris tangled at Turn 4 after the start, as both cars went wide while jostling for position. Leclerc went ahead by going over the grass and did not hand the place back. His decision was influenced by Max Verstappen, the eventual race winner, who had moved into second place while the Ferrari pair were fighting.
What Leclerc said
"The penalty was deserved in a way," Leclerc said after the race. He described the moment as confusing, saying both drivers had not made Turn 4, that he stayed ahead and that Verstappen then got past Hamilton. He said he asked the team what to do, kept the position and took a deserved penalty.
Leclerc said he did not know whether Hamilton's point was that he should have been given third place, but felt that having a Red Bull in second made it worth keeping the position to see what happened. He also called the clash part of racing, saying he could equally be unhappy with how far Hamilton had pushed him off the track out of Turn 1.
The stewards' decision
The standard penalty for this kind of incident is often 10 seconds. The stewards cut it to five. Their written decision noted a 10-second baseline, but said Hamilton, in car 44, had also gone off the track on Leclerc's inside, and that it all happened early on lap one.
Hamilton's reaction
Hamilton was frustrated and said over the radio that running in clean air cancelled out the punishment. He went on to reclaim positions after the race restart and took second place. Leclerc finished fourth on the road.
What happens next
Leclerc said he would speak to Hamilton and the rest of the team about what happened. Ferrari now have talks pending between both sides of the garage. Next weekend's race is in Brazil, and Ferrari arrive with a 124-point lead over Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship as the two teams contest second place.
