FIA sent Charles Leclerc a clear warning with his ‘harsh’ Miami GP penalty, claims Christian Danner

Follow us on Google Discover

Christian Danner feels the FIA sent Ferrari racer Charles Leclerc a warning with his 20-second penalty in the 2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix that he could have been disqualified.

Leclerc was hit with a 20s penalty following last Sunday’s Miami GP in lieu of a drive-through penalty for cutting several corners during the final lap of the race. The 28-year-old could not make a host of the turns because of the damage he sustained from a crash earlier in the lap.

Ferrari saw their hopes for a potential podium finish in Florida go up in smoke when Leclerc spun through Turn 3 whilst running only 0.7s behind McLaren rival Oscar Piastri for the final spot on the rostrum. Leclerc completed a full spin, but he could not avoid touching the wall.

The contact with the wall broke Leclerc’s suspension and while he successfully got his car home, George Russell and Max Verstappen caught and overtook him. Leclerc’s penalty after shortcutting Turns 6, 8, 11 and 15 also gave spots to Lewis Hamilton and Franco Colapinto.

Charles Leclerc drops to P8 after getting a 20-second penalty!

The Ferrari driver left the track on several occasions without a justifiable reason.

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

Christian Danner thinks Charles Leclerc could have been disqualified from the Miami GP

F1 fans felt Leclerc’s post-race penalty in Miami was “crazy”, given that he could barely turn his steering wheel due to his suspension damage. But while Danner believes that 20s was a “harsh” penalty as Leclerc did not actually gain anything, the FIA stewards’ decision was fair.

READ MORE: The five worst moments of Charles Leclerc’s Formula 1 career

Danner also suggests that the FIA stewards in Miami wanted to send Leclerc a message that he could have been disqualified for driving a car in an unsafe condition for a full lap. Leclerc was investigated for driving a car in an unsafe condition but was cleared of the infringement.

Danner told Motorsport-Magazin: “It was a harsh penalty, no question about it, but it was fair enough. They also looked into whether what he did was actually dangerous – the fact that he managed to drive that car to the finish line.

“As we saw, he could barely steer to the right. That could have been taken into account, as well, but that often leads to disqualification. And that, I believe, is why it was factored into this harsh penalty, even though it wasn’t mentioned.

“That was handled quite skilfully, even though 20 seconds is obviously quite harsh. But I think that if you add up everything they could have pinned on him, it all adds up.

“Parts of the suspension were already destroyed, and then the car is no longer steerable. In an emergency, you might not even be able to swerve to avoid another vehicle. Or you could crash into the wall again right in front of someone else. So, that’s highly problematic.”

Leclerc may have avoided being disqualified from the final classifications and only demoted to P8 in the Miami GP as no parts were evidently falling off his Ferrari SF-26 as he brought it home. The Ferrari star also did not gain any advantage from repeatedly cutting the corners.

The Monegasque had to slow to such an extent that Russell overturned a 14s deficit to take P4 on the exit of Turn 17. Verstappen was also 14.8s behind Leclerc before the Ferrari racer spun through Turn 3, and the Red Bull driver got ahead for P5 on the run to the finish line.