Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll have escaped a penalty after Sprint Qualifying at the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix.
Leclerc was investigated by the stewards after exceeding the maximum lap time limit during the second segment of Friday’s Sprint Qualifying.
The act by the Monegasque driver was a result of him slowing down to let Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton as instructed by his race engineer.
After the FIA stewards investigated the matter, they deemed no sporting advantage was gained and Leclerc wasn’t driving “unreasonably slowly” or in a matter to danger his fellow competitors, thus escaping punishment.
Aston Martin’s Stroll was also investigated for breaching the maximum time limit during Friday’s session.
However, the Canadian escaped punishment as his lap was in preparation for a push run on his second tour of the Shanghai International Circuit.
Thanks to his preparation lap being impacted by McLaren’s Lando Norris coming through, Stroll was handed a reprieve by the stewards.
“The evidence showed that Stroll stayed at or above speeds necessary to stay below
1:54.0 around the vast majority of the circuit,” the verdict read.
“In this case Stroll’s ability to stay below 1:54.0 was compromised by Norris’ overtake. No car behind Stroll was affected because the two cars following were on in-laps.
“Therefore, Stroll did not impede other drivers and gained no sporting advantage.”
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