The editorial staff Saturday 1 July 2023, 17:25
SPIELBERG – Controversy breaks out in Austrian Grand Prixafter the penalty imposed on Charles Leclerc. The pilot of Ferrariin fact, was demoted three places in the Sprint for the impedance on Oscar Piastri during the Shootout in which the Monegasque, when it was time to return to the pits, hindered the Australian from McLaren. A heavy relegation, which forced Leclerc to start ninth, and making his comeback in the Sprint complicated: a comeback that in fact did not materialize, given that Leclerc struggled in wet conditions, arriving even 12th after risking the dry tires in the last portion of the mini race. Returning to the penalty, the decision itself has left room for few recriminations, except that it goes against what Max Verstappen did in the Shootout.
Leclerc-Verstappen controversy, the facts
As Sky Sport analysts point out, in fact, the Dutchman from Red Bull made himself the protagonist of a bad gesture towards Lewis Hamilton, without however being penalized for impeding. Verstappen, after completing his lap, went to overtake the British, braking on the exit of turn-1, and irreparably ruining the best lap of the Mercedes driver. A fact totally ignored by the race direction, which has not even opened the investigation. Verstappen therefore saw his first position confirmed at the start of the Sprint, which he then went on to win.
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