Ferrari explain why Sainz, Leclerc avoided punishment
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The FIA race director warned drivers ahead of qualifying that they would have to adhere to a maximum delta time of 1m41 seconds when completing their out-laps. The Best F1 Reserve DriversVideo of The Best F1 Reserve DriversThis instruction was enforced in a bid to curb traffic issues at Monza and avoid a repeat of the farcical scenes witnessed during qualifying for the 2019 Italian Grand Prix. Both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were investigated for driving too slowly on their outlaps in Q1 but the stewards decided to take “no further action”. With Leclerc and Sainz trying to avoid impeding their rivals’ respective laps, the stewards ultimately deemed that neither driver had committed an offence. This was backed up by Ferrari chief Vasseur, who told Sky: “By regulation you are allowed to exceed if you slow down to let someone go, and that’s what happened.”
Sky F1’s pitlane reporter Ted Kravitz explained: “There was a get out phrase, which says unless there are exceptional circumstances, and it turns out there were some exceptional circumstances. “Sainz said that he didn’t want to impede anyone else and Charles Leclerc was letting a load of people through, so it didn’t apply to them.“And even if it had applied to them, and there weren’t exceptional circumstances, the worst penalty they were ever going to get was a reprimand, because that’s the worst penalty that’s been handed out by the stewards for breaching a race directors’ note instruction. Related Starting grid for F1 Italian Grand Prix: How the race will begin Hamilton flummoxed by Mercedes pace | ‘Not easy’ being leapfrogged by Williams“So we shouldn’t have worried.”
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