ABU DHABI — Ferrari has been fined 50,000 Euros for a 5kg fuel irregularity inside Charles Leclerc’s car at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
As Leclerc’s car arrived on the grid ahead of the race, it was confirmed Ferrari would have to visit the stewards after the conclusion of the grand prix.
The summons read: “The fuel declaration of car number 16 was checked before the car left the pit-lane. There was a significant difference between the declaration of the team and the amount of fuel inside the car.
Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the race, Red Bull boss Christian Horner predicted Leclerc’s car would be thrown out of the race.
“I think the interesting thing about it is the word significant they’ve put in there, there’s a ‘significant difference’. The technical regulations are black and white. Usually with a case like that, it’s either legal or it isn’t.
Asked if he thought Leclerc would be disqualified, Horner replied: “I can’t see how he won’t be”
However, after Ferrari had visited the stewards in the hour after the race, the stewards decided to hand out a financial penalty to the team instead.
The stewards’ verdict referred to a technical directive which: “required teams to declare the amount of fuel that they intended to put in the car for the laps to the grid, the formation lap, the race, the in-lap and any fire-ups that would be needed.
“The Technical Delegate was able to confirm the fuel mass put in the tank by checking in accordance with the procedure specified in TD/014-19. There was a difference of 4.88kgs between the team’s declaration for car 16 and the Technical Delegate’s measured fuel mass.”
The verdict means the result of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix does not change and Leclerc holds on to third position.