Leclerc backed after F-bomb mistake

Charles Leclerc may yet face retribution of his FIA press conference slip of the tongue following his podium at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver accidentally used the F-word in the mandated session, but has so far not been punished by the governing body for the indiscretion.

However, when asked in a recent poll by RacingNews365, a majority of F1 fans who responded felt it would be harsh to penalise the eight-time grand prix winner, given it was clearly unintentional.

When describing his hairy moment exiting the final corner at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, which lost him second-place on the road, the 26-year-old said: "I had one oversteer, and then when I recovered from that oversteer, I had an oversteer from the other side, and then I was like, 'F***!'.

There were audible gasps from the media present, which prompted the Monegasque driver to realise his mistake, to which he added, laughing: "Sorry! Oh no! Oh nooo! I don't want to join Max [laughs]", before concluding, "Then I was just hoping to bring the car to the finish line and get that third place."

Swearing in an official FIA press conference has become a contentious issue in F1 after Max Verstappen was handed what is akin to community service as a punishment for saying the very same word over the Singapore Grand Prix weekend.

The Dutchman could not resist calling out the lack of action taken against Leclerc when attending the media day press conference ahead of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Nevertheless, almost 60% of F1 fans feel punishment for Leclerc would be unfair, whereas just over 40% want to see consistency with how the Red Bull driver was treated.

Full results below. Let us know what you think by commenting on the latest poll by RacingNews365.