Leclerc handed tough Monaco Grand Prix penalty

Charles Leclerc has been hit with a three-place grid penalty for impeding Lando Norris during Formula 1 Qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix.

With Norris attempting a flying lap in Q3, he came across Leclerc, who was driving slowly at the corner within the Monaco tunnel.

It is a driver's agreement to not slow down on the racing line through the tunnel, owing to lack of visibility.

The stewards found that Leclerc did impede Norris and handed him a three-place grid drop, meaning he will be relegated down to P6 for his home Grand Prix, promoting Esteban Ocon to third behind the front-row of Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso.

His Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz will be promoted to fourth place as a result, with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton moving up one place to P5.

Stewards blame Ferrari for Leclerc error

After discussing with Leclerc, Norris and their team representatives, the stewards determined that Norris had been "clearly impeded" on his fast qualifying lap by incident.

The stewards, however, noted that Ferrari did not prioritise any communications about the nearby traffic on track, commenting:

"However, the Stewards reviewed team radio, and Leclerc’s team failed to give him any warning about Norris’ approach until Norris was already directly behind him. Further, the discussion during the preceding portion of the track was entirely about competing drivers, not the traffic behind, which is a critical task at this track."

The stewards concluded that more could have been done by the team prior to the tunnel to avoid a blocking offence.

Norris, who had his own race against time to be ready in time for Q3 after a barrier collision in Q2, will start the the Monaco Grand Prix from P10 on the grid.