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Ferrari Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc has kept his Australian Grand Prix pole after the stewards deemed no further action was necessary over him allegedly driving unnecessarily slowly in qualifying.
Leclerc took his second pole of the season after defeating early championship rival Max Verstappen in Melbourne.
However, on Saturday evening he and his Ferrari team were called to the stewards at 20:55 local time.
Leclerc has allegedly breached Article 33.4 of the sporting regulations and the race director’s notes by “driving unnecessarily slowly on an inlap” in Q1.
This appears to be in relation to an inlap after Nicholas Latifi crashed and caused a red flag. Drivers needed to stay below the maximum time set by the FIA between the safety car lines.
Around five hours after qualifying, the stewards determined no further action was necessary after hearing Leclerc’s explanation and reviewing the evidence.
“Leclerc started a lap that was intended to be a cool down lap, not an in lap, which would not be subject to the minimum time restriction of the regulation,” the stewards’ statement read.
“Partway through the lap, the decision was made to come in. During the lap, there was heavy traffic and Leclerc took an effort to ensure that he did not impede other drivers on push laps. These efforts significantly slowed his lap time.
“As a result, the minimum time was breached. The stewards accept the driver’s rationale for his actions; find that he acted reasonably under the circumstances; and, therefore, take no further action.”
Zhou Guanyu and Yuki Tsunoda were also summoned to the stewards for the same alleged offence.
Zhou also escaped with no further action albeit with a different rationale.
“During the lap, there was heavy traffic and Zhou took effort to ensure that he did not impede other drivers on push laps,” the report read.
“These efforts slowed his lap time. As a result, the minimum time was slightly breached. The stewards accept the driver’s rationale for his actions; find that he acted reasonably under the circumstances; and, therefore, take no further action.”
AlphaTauri’s Tsunoda was handed a reprimand though.
“Tsunoda drove a slow in-lap at the end of the session without other traffic that impacted his driving,” the stewards noted.
“The required minimum lap time was breached without good or apparent reason. The stewards, therefore, reprimand him for breaching the regulation.”
