Leclerc’s five-second penalty hands Lawson seventh in Brazil
Liam Lawson #30 – Racing Bulls – New Zealand Free practice sessions at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, USA, on October 23, 2026. © 2026 Lubomir Asenov / LAP.bg. All rights reserved.Liam Lawson #30 – Racing Bulls – New Zealand Free practice sessions at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, USA, on October 23, 2026. © 2026 Lubomir Asenov / LAP.bg. All rights reserved.
Charles Leclerc crossed the line in São Paulo 1.816 seconds ahead of Liam Lawson, yet left with two fewer points. The stewards added five seconds to the Ferrari driver’s time for contact at Turn 12. Lawson inherited seventh and six points, with Leclerc classified eighth ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Contact at Turn 12, a pass five corners later
The pair were fighting for seventh on a wet track on lap 69 of 71. Lawson led into the final slow left-hander before the long climb to the start-finish straight. The front of the Ferrari caught the left-rear wheel of the Racing Bulls car. Lawson kept the place and still managed to defend the inside at the next braking zone into Turn 1. Leclerc only completed the pass a few corners later.
That sequence mattered when the drivers met the stewards. Leclerc described the touch as minor and said he saw no obvious effect on the fight. Lawson pointed to damage to his left-rear wheel rim. In his view, the contact had cost him momentum just as he needed to accelerate up the hill, allowing the Ferrari to draw alongside.
Why the stewards chose five seconds
The FIA stewards heard from both drivers and reviewed positioning data, broadcast footage and onboard video. They found that Lawson was entitled to the corner and that Leclerc could have avoided the collision. Their decision linked the eventual pass to the advantage the Ferrari gained at Turn 12. They took the wet conditions and the light contact into account, reducing the usual ten-second penalty for such an incident to five.
Lawson drew a comparison of his own. He recalled the 2017 Formula 2 finale in Abu Dhabi, where Leclerc touched Alex Albon’s rear wheel before passing him for the win. Perhaps it was his rival’s speciality, Lawson joked to reporters, although he still felt it had been a good battle.
Earlier in the afternoon, Lawson had briefly considered a move for the lead. He started third, got ahead of Lando Norris and thought about attacking Antonelli in the opening laps. As the circuit dried, his intermediate tyres wore faster than those of the cars around him. Seventh still made him the highest finisher outside the top four teams.
Sources · FIA stewards’ decision · FIA final classification · PlanetF1
Archive photograph from Austin: Lubomir Asenov / LAP.bg.
