28/10/2024
NEWS STORY
The FIA is considering whether to investigate Charles Leclerc after the Ferrari driver swore during the official post-race press conference.
Asked what he said to himself at the time of the incident in the final moments of the race when he went off in the final corner, narrowly avoiding crashing into the barriers and losing (second) position to Lando Norris, the Monegasque smiled and said: "I don't know which face I did, but it had to be a pretty stressful one because when I lost it... I knew that I had to do everything perfect. I mean, Lando was so quick at that time.
"I felt like it was a matter of laps, but I was still trying to do everything possible for him to overheat behind me and keep him as long as possible behind me.
"So, I tried to have the best exit possible. I could see that he was very close out of that corner. I lost the rear and then you forget about Lando and you just hope that you are going to take it back.
"I had one oversteer and then when I recovered from that oversteer, I had an oversteer from the other side and then I was like, 'f**k'... oh, sorry! Oh, no, oh no! I don't want to join Max!"
"You have your wallet here?" joked teammate Carlos Sainz.
"I was just hoping to bring the car to the finish line and get that third place," said Leclerc, but too late, the FIA had already taken notice.
Leclerc's faux pas comes weeks after Max Verstappen was handed a community service order for swearing at the official press conference, just days after FIA president, Mohammed ben Sulayem had called for an end to the broadcasting of bad language.
In the aftermath of the FIA's action, Verstappen has restricted his comments during official press conferences, preferring to talk to journos within the confines of the Red Bull motorhome.
It is understood that the FIA is still considering whether to report Leclerc to the stewards.
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