Leclerc handed five-second penalty for Lawson contact in Sao Paulo

Charles Leclerc has received a five-second time penalty for making contact with Liam Lawson late in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The incident came at Turn 12 during a tight battle for seventh place, as rain increased on the track. Leclerc had recovered from what he described as a horrendous opening stint, closing on the Racing Bulls driver before tapping the rear left wheel of Lawson's car.

The stewards found that Lawson had the right to the corner and that Leclerc should have avoided the collision. They concluded the contact was minor but had a sporting consequence, as it disrupted Lawson and allowed Leclerc to overtake him five corners later. The wet conditions and the minor nature of the contact were taken into account, reducing the penalty from ten seconds to five.

With Lawson finishing just under two seconds behind, the two drivers swapped places in the final classification, with Leclerc dropping from seventh to eighth.