Ferrari "simply forgot" to tell Leclerc of Vettel penalty
Ferrari has admitted that it made a mistake in not telling Charles Leclerc about the five-second penalty handed down to Sebastian Vettel in the Canadian Grand Prix.
Vettel was given the punishment for not rejoining the track safely and forcing Lewis Hamilton wide on lap 48 of the race when he made a mistake and cut across the first chicane.
In the closing stages of the race, Vettel’s pace dropped off and that allowed Leclerc in third place to close up on the two leaders.
But Lecerc was not aware that there was the chance of moving up to second place if he got close enough to Vettel - and in the end he missed out by just over one second.
Speaking after the race, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto revealed that in the intensity of the situation, there had been no communication with the Monegasque driver that Vettel had a punishment.
“We didn’t [tell him],” said Binotto. “It has been a mistake from our side. We were very busy on the pitwall and simply we forgot. We should have done it, but we didn’t.”
Leclerc says that even had he known about the penalty, he would not have been able to make any further progress to close the gap.
Asked if he would have done anything differently if he had been made aware of Vettel's predicament, Leclerc said: “No. Because anyway I was pushing very hard to try to catch up.
“I saw they were fighting and I saw they were close at least, and I saw also that we were quite quick and catching up.
"I was pushing hard so that if anything happened I had the opportunity to be as close as possible to do so. So no, it would not have changed my approach.”
Previous article
McLaren investigating Norris' "mystery" failure
Next article
Bottas "quite limited" by temperature "trouble" in Canada
About this article
| Series | Formula 1 |
| Event | Canadian GP |
| Drivers | Charles Leclerc |
| Teams | Scuderia Ferrari |
| Author | Jonathan Noble |
Why Verstappen isn't interested in the hype game
In a pre-season where Red Bull has been unusually quiet, Max Verstappen has also been guarded about the team's fortunes in 2021. Even after trying the RB16B for the first time at Silverstone, the Dutchman was careful to manage expectations
The pros and cons of F1's 2021 rule changes
In the strategy for grand prix racing's future, 2021 represents a significant step towards the goal of closer racing and a more level playing field. That's the theory behind the latest raft of changes, but will they have the desired effect?
What Red Bull is trying to hide with its RB16B launch
Red Bull made no secret of the fact its 2021 F1 car is an evolution of its predecessor, but in keeping the same foundations while hiding some tightly-guarded updates with its RB16B, the team aims to avoid suffering the same pitfalls of previous years
How Albon plans to fight his way out of Red Bull limbo
Alex Albon has faced the media for the first time since he lost his Red Bull drive at the end of 2020 and dropped out of a Formula 1 race seat altogether. He has a history of bouncing back from setbacks, so here's what he must do to rise again
Ranked! Carlin's greatest F1 graduates
Carlin has helped guide enough drivers to Formula 1 to fill out an entire grid, plus a handful of reserves, to create a remarkable alumni list. With Yuki Tsunoda set to join that group, Motorsport.com has ranked its graduates to grace the grand prix scene...
Why Alfa's 2021 launch says more about its 2022 plans
Alfa Romeo launched its C41 with a revised front nose, but there's little to suggest it will surge up the leaderboard in 2021. As the team frankly admits, it's putting its eggs in the basket labelled 2022 and hoping to hold the eighth place it earned last year
Why Gasly’s AlphaTauri haven is a blessing and a curse
Red Bull opted not to re-sign Pierre Gasly even before it decided to drop Alex Albon and so the Frenchman's Formula 1 journey will continue at AlphaTauri. This has positive and negative connotations for one of last season's star performers.
Eight things Red Bull must do to beat Mercedes in 2021
After seven years of defeat at the hands of Mercedes, Red Bull is as hungry as ever to secure a fifth world championship. But there are key challenges it must overcome in 2021 to switch from challenger to conqueror
