Helmut Marko feels that Charles Leclerc should be punished for missing the FIA weighbridge during qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix. The home town hero – who claimed pole position at the Circuit de Monaco – had to be pushed back down the pit lane by his mechanics after he missed a call to be weighed during Q2. Ferrari have said that nothing was touched on the car on its way back to the weighbridge, and that it did not return to the garage between the call and being weighed. The incident is not under investigation by the stewards. But that has not stopped Marko from demanding punishment for Leclerc, on a day that saw the Ferrari driver out-qualify both of his Red Bull cars.
Marko adamant: This was so clear
Speaking to Austrian outlet ORF , Marko is quoted as saying: "If you punish this consistently, as you do in the junior classes, then there will be a drastic penalty. "He drove by. They didn't change the car, but according to the regulations, it should be a penalty. I don't wish it on him because he's had so much bad luck in Monte Carlo, but I don't think you can say that pushing back will solve this offence. However, Marko says that Red Bull will not be complaining to stewards about the matter. "I don't think we need to intervene. This was so clear," he Marko. "There are other teams that are also behind him and everyone is there interested in moving up the ranks. We are officially not going to do anything."
Leclerc explains why he missed FIA weightbridge
Drivers are told when they are required to pull onto the FIA weighbridge by a light panel at pit entry, although Leclerc has argued that the panel is difficult to spot when travelling at speed. Luckily for the Monegasque, his team noticed it after he didn't, and ensured that he stopped immediately. "It's a very tricky one here because we get into the pits and I actually don't even know where the panel is, whether it's on the right or left, but it's very far so you don't look in that direction," Leclerc explained. "So actually I did not see at all that I was called to the weighbridge, but luckily for me the team saw the alarm and told me to stop. Then they pushed me back."
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