Charles Leclerc has escaped a penalty after crashing into Lando Norris in the pit-lane during practice for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.
However, his Ferrari team have been fined €10,000 (£8,700) for causing the collision during the chaotic second practice session at Marina Bay on Friday.
Norris is looking to close the 25 point gap to teammate and rival Oscar Piastri this weekend, as well as stave off a resurgent Max Verstappen.
Additionally, McLaren just need to score 13 points at the street circuit to clinch the constructors’ championship.
But preparations for the grand prix were compromised on Friday, with second practice stopped several times after first George Russell and then Liam Lawson went into the wall.
With time running out and the session about to restart, cars scrambled out of the pit-lane, which lead to a bizarre and scary moment when Leclerc crashed into Norris as he drove out of his garage.
The Brit’s car ended up stuck in barrier and his front-wing broken, with mechanics from both McLaren and Ferrari having to push him free.
The incident won’t help the 25-year-old ahead of Sunday’s night race, though he tried to play down the incident afterward, simply telling Sky Sports: ‘[It] cost the team a bit of money, which is a shame.’
‘My camera was on my face so I couldn’t see to double check with my mechanic and speaking with him it was a bit of confusion with the two McLarens going out,’ Leclerc explained.
‘It looked like they were going out at the same time, so he thought they would go out slower, so I didn’t have a message to stop.
‘On these kind of cases you rely on the team but these kind of things happen. It was also in a tricky moment because with all the red flags, everyone was in a rush to get out to do some laps.
‘It’s a combination of things. It’s not something you want but these things happen.’
Naturally, the stewards were quick to investigate the incident with both drivers summoned to give their perspectives of the crash.
After several hours, they ruled that Ferrari were to blame rather than Leclerc himself and imposed a hefty fine on the team instead of the usual reprimend.
The FIA ruling is as follows: ‘After a red flag period, several cars exited their garages. Car 16 (Leclerc) was initially instructed by a team member to leave his pit box.
‘At that moment however, it was overlooked that car 4 (Norris) was already passing in the fast lane, approaching the Ferrari pit box and directly into the path of Leclerc.
‘The team member, who was responsible for the safe conduct of releasing car 16, misjudged the situation and gave unclear instructions to Leclerc, who could not see Norris’ car.
‘As a result, both cars collided in the fast lane. Having noted precedents for this type of breach, the Stewards are of the view that this breach warrants a more severe penalty than previously applied hence the penalty above is imposed.’
The Singapore Grand Prix is set to get underway on Sunday at 1pm UK time.