Charles Leclerc has been handed a 20-second time penalty hours after the Miami Grand Prix, reshaping the final classification. The sanction followed a stewards’ investigation into repeated track limits breaches as he limped to the flag with a damaged car on the final lap.
Leclerc had been on course for a podium until a spin and brush with the wall at Turn 3 on the last lap. With his Ferrari impaired, he was overtaken by Oscar Piastri, George Russell and Max Verstappen before crossing the line in sixth.
Post-race, the stewards reviewed two potential infringements: multiple instances of leaving the track and gaining an advantage, and whether Leclerc continued with an unsafe car. They decided against action for the latter but issued a drive-through penalty for the number of off-track moments, which converts to a 20-second time penalty when applied after the race.
The time addition drops Leclerc from sixth to eighth in the final order. As a result, Lewis Hamilton moves up to sixth, with seventh place now awarded to Franco Colapinto.
Explaining the ruling, the stewards said: "Car 16 [Leclerc] spun on the last lap at turn three and hit the wall but continued on track. The driver informed us that the car appeared fine, save that the car would not negotiate the right hand corners properly. Given this problem, he was forced to cut chicanes on the way to the chequered flag.
"We determined that the fact that he had to cut the chicanes (i.e. to leave the track) meant that he gained a lasting advantage by leaving the track in that manner. The fact that he had a mechanical issue of some sort did not amount to a justifiable reason.
"We accordingly impose a drive through penalty on Car 16, given the number of times the car left the track and gained an advantage. We also considered whether there was an additional breach in continuing to drive a car with an obvious and discernible mechanical issue. We determined that there was no evidence of there being an obvious of discernible mechanical issue. We therefore took no further action in relation to that potential infringement."
Separately, Verstappen received a five-second penalty for crossing the white line at the pit exit earlier than permitted during the race. The additional time did not affect his position, and he retained fifth place.
The updated classification reflects the post-race rulings and will stand unless further notices are issued by officials. Attention now turns to the next round as teams assess the fallout from a dramatic finish in Miami.
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*Originally published on [News Formula 1](https://newsformula.one/article/leclerc-hit-with-20s-miami-gp-penalty-as-final-result-shifts). Visit for full coverage.*
