Leclerc drops to eighth as stewards punish Brazilian GP contact with Lawson

Charles Leclerc was demoted from seventh to eighth in the final Brazilian Grand Prix classification after FIA stewards issued a five-second post-race penalty for his contact with Liam Lawson on lap 69 at Interlagos.

The Ferrari driver and the Racing Bulls rookie made contact entering Juncao, Turn 12, during a battle for seventh place. Both cars continued to the finish, but Leclerc’s move allowed him to close on and ultimately pass Lawson — a sequence the stewards ruled was a direct consequence of the collision.

Stewards determined that Leclerc bore responsibility for the incident under the Driving Standards Guidelines, which gave Lawson the right to the corner. In their ruling, the stewards noted that the contact “clearly disrupted Car 30 and allowed Car 16 to pull up alongside when it was further away before the contact,” dismissing Leclerc’s argument that there was no obvious sporting consequence.

The panel acknowledged the wet conditions and the minor nature of the contact as mitigating factors, opting for a five-second penalty rather than the harsher ten-second alternative that was under consideration. The decision moved Lawson back ahead of Leclerc in the final order.

Antonelli and Bearman were also penalised for separate unsafe pitstop releases during the race. New Formula 1 world champion Kimi Antonelli was released from his final stop into the path of Franco Colapinto; despite attempting to take evasive action, stewards judged the release unsafe and handed the Mercedes driver a five-second penalty. Because Antonelli finished more than 20 seconds clear of Oscar Piastri, the penalty had no effect on his final race position.

Oliver Bearman received the same punishment for an unsafe release from the Haas pit box, though the source material does not detail the full impact on his finishing position.

The trio of post-race penalties added a layer of administrative drama to an already eventful afternoon in São Paulo, with Leclerc the only driver among the three to suffer an actual change in classified result.