The Zandvoort stewards have opted to take no further action over today's incident involving Charles Leclerc and George Russell.

The pair were involved in a collision at Turn 12.

Russell had been ahead of Leclerc at Turn 11 but subsequently lost the position to the Ferrari at the exit of Turn 12.

The stewards investigated, with the benefit of the driving standards guidelines, whether either driver should have done something different. They also looked into whether Leclerc remained on the track or left the track at Turn 12.

The available evidence was inconclusive as to whether the Ferrari left the track and both team representatives were in agreement that there was no clear evidence of that.

Both drivers felt that this was a racing incident and that there should be no further consequence to either driver for the incident. The stewards, having reviewed all the available evidence, arrived at the same conclusion.

The stewards also opted to take no further action against Gabriel Bortoleto for failing to stop despite significant and obvious damage to his car.

The Brazilian was involved in a first lap racing incident with Lance Stroll at Turn 12 and as a result of the incident, the end-plate of the Sauber's front wing sustained damage and was hanging but still connected.

The issue was brought to the attention of the team by Race Control, however Sauber elected not to pit the car because they were satisfied that the horizontal wing element of the inboard of the end plate retained its structural integrity. Consequently, no black and orange flag was displayed.

Several laps later, the end plate dislodged and fell onto the track. The end plate was struck by Stroll but he did not suffer a puncture or any other consequence or damage.

Article 26.10 requires a driver to enter the pit lane if significant and obvious damage to a structural component results in it being in a condition presenting an immediate risk of endangering the driver or others.

However, Article 26.10 has no application in this case because it was accepted by the FIA Representatives that the end plate is not a structural component.

The stewards also pointed to FIA directive REF: No F1Tm/07-24 issued to all Sporting Directors which addresses the circumstances when a competitor is expected to address bodywork damage on their own initiative, regardless of whether a black and orange flag is displayed.

The stewards reviewed the directive and found that it did not apply as the dislodgement of the wing element in this instance did not result in a race intervention to remove it nor did it result in any damage to any other car. In the circumstances, they took no further action.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Mad Matt, 01/09/2025 17:36

"I'm glad the George/Charles incident was settled amicably but it still seems to me that Charles was off track... not that it matters in the end.

I was more concerned about Gabriel's end plate as it could easily caused a puncture, or worse still hit a driver... and it doesn't seem consistent with other decisions made in the last year or two."

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2. Posted by Burton, 01/09/2025 12:54

"Race control seems to have deleted Leclerc's laptime, so I'm not sure what the stewards are on about..."

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No further action over Russell/Leclerc clash

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