FIA confirms Charles Leclerc verdict after Las Vegas Grand Prix investigation
Charles Leclerc is in his seventh full season with Ferrari in 2025
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc will face no further action after the FIA stewards launched an investigation over an incident in FP2 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
It comes after Leclerc lifted the lid on a “misunderstanding” after stopping at the side of the track during the second practice session.
Charles Leclerc involved in FIA ‘misunderstanding’ at Las Vegas Grand Prix
Leclerc enjoyed an encouraging Friday in Nevada, setting the pace in the opening practice session before being classified third in the later session.
He suffered a blip in the closing moments of FP2 when a suspected gearbox problem forced him to stop at the side of the track.
Leclerc found himself summoned to the stewards after he and trackside marshals struggled to put the car in neutral, with the Ferrari driver switching the car back on – against the marshals’ request – to assist the recovery process.
Lewis Hamilton vs Charles Leclerc: Ferrari head-to-head scores for F1 2025
? F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates
? F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates
The FIA has now confirmed that Leclerc will face no further action following the confusion.
The stewards’ verdict read: “The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 16 (Charles Leclerc), team representative and reviewed video, team radio and in-car video evidence.
“The driver explained that prior to stepping out of the car, he tried to put it in neutral but he could not do so.
“He then switched off the car and left the car.
“The marshals tried to put the car in neutral but could not.
“The driver then tried to assist the marshals by switching the car back on to attempt to put it in neutral however the marshals, in the belief the car was unsafe, asked him not to.
“Finally he persuaded the marshals that the car was safe, and turned off the power.”
Speaking ahead of the stewards’ decision, Leclerc described the incident as a simple “misunderstanding.”
He said: “The steering wheel was back on.
“There was a bit of a misunderstanding in everything that happened, but it will be all fine I think.
“There was just a misunderstanding of everything.”
More on Charles Leclerc and Ferrari from PlanetF1.com
Leclerc, who set pole position for the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023, went on to declare that Ferrari is competitive in Nevada.
And he insisted that setup decisions overnight will be key to the team’s hopes of sustaining its pace for the remainder of the weekend.
He said: “I think, honestly, we are not in a bad place, but we need to wait and see.
“I think the Mercedes is very strong and McLaren and Red Bull are also in the fight, so I think it’s going to be tight.
“I just hope we can build from now and be in the fight for pole tomorrow, but it’s been a positive Friday.
“I think the pace was strong today.
“It’s all about trying to anticipate what the conditions of tomorrow will be like and make sure we start on the right foot tomorrow.
“But I have pretty clear ideas of what I want to do with the car to try and improve it and we’ll see tomorrow if these were the right choices.”
Read next: Carlos Sainz, Kermit the Frog and John Elkann’s ‘not up to par’ comment
