Liam Lawson was promoted to seventh place at the São Paulo Grand Prix after Charles Leclerc was handed a five-second time penalty for a controversial overtake, RacingNews365 reported.
The incident, which occurred on lap 69 of 71, involved contact at Turn 12 that forced the Racing Bulls driver wide.
The stewards determined that the minor contact between Leclerc’s Ferrari and Lawson’s Racing Bulls allowed the Monegasque to close the gap and complete the pass. While Leclerc argued the touch had no sporting consequence, the officials disagreed, stating it was a factor in the overtake. The penalty dropped Leclerc from seventh to eighth, with Lawson inheriting the position and two championship points.
Leclerc's Overtake on Lawson Earns Penalty
- Leclerc’s move on Lawson in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix was called into question by the Racing Bulls driver, who described it as a ‘specialty’ reminiscent of a previous incident.
- Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson finished seventh in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after a late overtake by Charles Leclerc was penalized by stewards.
The Anatomy of a Bump-and-Run at Turn 12
The defining moment came on lap 69 of 71. Lawson, running ahead, defended the inside line into the notoriously aggressive Turn 12. The two cars made contact, with Leclerc’s right-front tyre making contact with Lawson’s left-rear. This forced Lawson wide, a critical consequence.
Leclerc used the momentum gained from the contact to pull alongside Lawson down the subsequent hill. Although Lawson maintained the lead into Turn 1, Leclerc completed the pass for seventh place on the road into Turn 4 on the following lap. Lawson immediately suspected the move, recalling a similar incident from Leclerc’s past.
A Precedent Set in GP2
Lawson was quick to draw a parallel, telling media, including RacingNews365, “I feel like it was exactly like his GP2 move on Albon in Abu Dhabi, like on Albon years ago. He did the same kind of thing.
So maybe it’s his specialty.” This reference to the 2017 Abu Dhabi GP2 (now Formula 2) race, where Leclerc used a ‘bump and run’ on Alex Albon to take the lead, became central to his argument about the legality of the move.
The Kiwi driver added, “I think it was his wing which hit my tyre, so I think we got really lucky.” He acknowledged that while the move was “a good battle overall,” its legality was questionable. Stewards reviewed the incident, focusing on whether the contact provided Leclerc with a tangible advantage, ultimately concluding that it did.
“While we acknowledge that the contact was minor, having examined the fight on track between the two cars, we conclude that Car 16 [Leclerc] was able to get closer to and thereafter overtake Car 30 [Lawson] because of the contact,” the stewards stated in their official ruling.
The Stewards’ Verdict and Its Implications
The stewards accepted the mitigating circumstances but felt a five-second penalty was appropriate, rather than 10 seconds.
For Lawson, the result was a hard-fought but ultimately rewarding conclusion to a chaotic race. He had started from third and briefly led the field after a stunning opening lap that saw him pass Lando Norris.
However, as the pace stabilized, he noted that Kimi Antonelli and the Ferrari cars were significantly quicker, causing him to fall back and damage his tyres. The penalty-secured seventh place marked his fifth consecutive points finish.
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