Leclerc drops out of points after track limits penalty, Stroll also penalised
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Track limits have been a hot topic in Qatar, with the FIA making alterations overnight to the track after Pirelli found tears in its tyres.Leclerc and Stroll exceeded track limits on four separate occasions in the sprint race on Saturday.As a result, both drivers were hit with five-second penalties.F1 Qatar Grand Prix 2023 – Sprint Race ResultsThe Ferrari driver had finished seventh on track, but the penalty dropped him to 12th.Stroll was 13th but classified 15th after the penalty was applied.
The stewards noted with both Leclerc and Stroll: “The car left the track on four (4) occasions without justifiable reason.”Leclerc was one of the few drivers to start on the race on the softs, hanging onto a top eight finish after his tyres degraded in the closing laps.Summarising his race, he said: “We lost out towards the end,” he said. “I think we were also quite lucky there was that many Safety Cars. But at the end we knew that it was going to be a difficult race.”“With the soft it was very tricky at the end,” he added. “The start was good, the first few laps were good but then after that we knew it was going to be a bit more difficult compared to the medium runners, which was the case.”Related Norris blames “lack of talent” after Piastri beats him to first F1 win Perez reveals “key” Red Bull change that will allow him to challenge Verstappen
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