Leclerc learns verdict after sprint qualifying stewards investigation

The F1 stewards have taken no further action against Charles Leclerc after the Monegasque driver was investigated in China.

Following his drive to fourth place at sprint qualifying, Leclerc was forced to see the stewards who took issue with him exceeding the time limit between the safety car lines.

The summons placed his top four result at risk ahead of the sprint race on Saturday.

However, the stewards analysed the situation that led to Leclerc's excessive gap between the safety car lines and determined no other car was impeded by the slow driving.

“Both Leclerc and Hamilton commenced their preparation laps close to each other,” read a statement from the stewards. 

“Hamilton followed Leclerc closely and Leclerc had Stroll ahead of him on a preparatory lap. Leclerc had to wait for Stroll to commence his push lap and in the meantime, Leclerc was overtaken by Hamilton on the orders of the team. 

“Leclerc at all times maintained a reasonable speed and ultimately sought to create a reasonable gap behind Hamilton. All of this was done in an orderly fashion and no car behind Leclerc was affected by this. 

“Therefore, Leclerc did not impede other drivers and gained no sporting advantage by his course of action.”

As a result, Leclerc has retained his fourth-place position for the start of the sprint race.

The 27-year-old will be aiming to move forward and bring home a strong result for Ferrari, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton taking the start from pole position.

Lance Stroll was also cleared of a similar alleged breach following a seperate investigation.