Ferrari were not treated leniently when the stewards decided against giving Charles Leclerc a time penalty for his pit lane collision with Romain Grosjean, according to FIA race director Michael Masi.

Leclerc made contact with Grosjean when Ferrari released him from his pit box as the Haas driver was passing by.

During this year’s Monaco Grand Prix Max Verstappen was given a five-second time penalty and two points on his licence when he collided with Valtteri Bottas in the pits. However Masi said the two incidents were different.

Verstappen’s penalty was “labelled an ‘unsafe release’ but it was actually ‘causing a collision in the pit lane’,” said Masi after yesterday’s race. “So that was why that was different to the one today, which was clearly an unsafe release.”

Masi said the challenging conditions in yesterday’s race and the likelihood many drivers would pit simultaneously were taken as mitigating factors when considering potential incidents.

“Part of the discussion that we had with team managers the other day, knowing that the conditions could be changeable was also taken into account. If we’ve got everyone coming in pit lane to do tyres at the same time, that’s going to be a factor in it.

“But still, quite clearly and consistent with the previous penalties, [a] €5,000 fine towards the team for what happened.”

Masi added the stewards found few recent precedents for a similar collision happening in the pits.

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Unsafe release investigations, 2017-present

Year Race Driver Team Outcome Notes 2017 Monaco Pascal Wehrlein Sauber Five-second time penalty The stewards ruled Sauber released Wehrlein too late and forced Jenson Button to take evasive action. 2017 Hungary Romain Grosjean Haas €5000 fine Grosjean was released from the pits with his left-rear wheel not fastened due to a cross-threaded wheel nut. He stopped his car when told to by the team. 2017 Abu Dhabi Carlos Sainz Jnr Renault €5000 fine Sainz was released from the pits with his left-front wheel not fastened. He stopped his car when told to by the team. 2018 Australia Kevin Magnussen Haas €5000 fine Magnussen’s car was released with one wheel not fastened. He stopped his car when told to by the team. 2018 Australia Romain Grosjean Haas €5000 fine Grosjean’s car was released with one wheel not fastened. He stopped his car when told to by the team. 2018 Bahrain Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari €50000 fine Raikkonen’s car was released while the team were still working on it, injuring a mechanic. 2018 Britain Charles Leclerc Sauber €5000 fine Leclerc’s car was released with one wheel not fastened. He stopped his car. 2018 Mexico Lance Stroll Williams €25000 fine Stroll’s car struck a mechanic after the pits stop was complete, injuring a mechanic. 2019 Monaco Max Verstappen Red Bull Five-second time penalty, two penalty points for Verstappen The stewards ruled that after Verstappen was released from his pit stop he continued to move towards the fast lane of the pits while Bottas was already alongside him, causing contact. The stewards’ decision described this as an “unsafe release”. 2019 Britain Lando Norris McLaren No action taken The stewards ruled Norris’s car was not released in an unsafe fashion. 2019 Germany Charles Leclerc Ferrari €5000 fine The stewards ruled Leclerc’s car was released into the path of Grosjean’s causing “minor contact”.

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2019 F1 season