Charles Leclerc learns FIA fate after Ferrari radio confusion

Charles Leclerc has been handed a formal warning by the stewards at the Monaco Grand Prix after impeding Liam Lawson during FP1.

The Monegasque driver topped the first free practice session in front of his adoring home crowd, but was hauled before the officials for the second time on the weekend in Monte Carlo.

After arriving late to the drivers' FIA press conference on Thursday, the eight-time grand prix winner was handed a suspended fine of €5,000, alongside Lando Norris, who was also guilty of the regulatory breach.

Adjudged to have blocked the Racing Bulls car into Turn 18 with just over 10 minutes of the session to go, the Ferrari driver nonetheless escaped punishment in the Principality for his second infraction.

The stewards explained their reasoning in the official decision document from the motorsport governing body, revealing there had been a misunderstanding between Leclerc and his race engineer, Bryan Bozzi.

"The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 16 (Charles Leclerc), the driver of Car 30 (Liam Lawson), team representatives and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, team radio and in-car video evidence," the document confirmed.

"As Car 30 was approaching Car 16, the team advised the driver of Car 16 '3 seconds to Bearman, 5 seconds to Lawson'. This was an accurate statement.

"However, the driver of Car 16 reasonably assumed that this meant there was a 5-second gap between Bearman and Lawson when in fact there was only a 2-second gap.

"This misunderstanding was ultimately responsible for the unnecessary impeding.

"The team agreed that it would revise its communication protocols to minimise the future risk of misunderstandings."

Similarly, Arvid Lindblad was handed a formal warning for blocking Oscar Piastri.

Lindblad on Piastri

Similarly, Arvid Lindblad was handed a formal warning for blocking Oscar Piastri during FP1.

The Racing Bulls driver got in the way of the McLaren in Turn 12, with the Australian clearly agitated by the near miss on one of the fastest corners on the Circuit de Monaco.

The official FIA decision document confirmed: "The team warned the driver of Car 41 when Car 81 was 4.5 seconds behind, but also previously advised that driver of Car 81 had aborted his lap.

"This was not the case and was a wrong interpretation by the team engineer. The driver of Car 41 stated that he knew Car 81 was within 4.5 seconds, as he had been told earlier by his team that the driver of Car 81 had aborted his lap, he was not as alert to his approach as he should have been.

"The Stewards consider this to be a reasonable mitigating circumstance; however, note that similar misinterpretations in future, following this warning, may almost certainly result in more severe penalties."