Formula One F1 - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - December 1, 2019 Ferrari's Charles Leclerc celebrates after finishing third REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Ferrari were fined 50,000 euros ($55,110) on Sunday for a fuel irregularity on Charles Leclerc’s car in Formula One’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix but the Monegasque driver retained third place.

The amount of fuel the car was carrying was checked before it left the pitlane to go on to the Yas Marina starting grid.

The FIA technical delegate found a “significant difference”, later revealed to be 4.88kg, between the amount in the car and that declared.

Stewards, who included former racer Derek Warwick, determined the fine for an inaccurate declaration after summoning Ferrari representatives post-race.

Leclerc had been fighting for third in the overall standings with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who finished second to Mercedes’s race winner Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen’s team boss Christian Horner had said before the start he expected Leclerc to be disqualified.

“The technical regulations are black or white... usually with a case like that it’s either legal or it isn’t,” he told Sky Sports television.