"Ridiculous and unacceptable"- Ferrari boss hits out at FIA over Charles Leclerc penalty at Japanese GP

Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto has lambasted the FIA for the penalty handed to Charles Leclerc at the Japanese GP on Sunday.

On the last lap of the race, Lecler cut a chicane to ensure Sergio Perez who was behind him was unable to pull off an overtake. After the drivers reached Parc Ferme, stewards gave the Ferrari driver a five-second penalty that dropped Leclerc behind Perez. That also confirmed Max Verstappen's second straight championship.

Binotto drew comparisons with the Sergio Perez incident in Singapore. In Singapore, the stewards wanted to hear from the driver first before handing him a penalty. However, in Japan, the decision was made much quicker.

Talking to Sky Italia, Binotto was furious for handing the penalty in haste, as Leclerc had gained 'no advantage'. He said:

“I have little desire to comment. I think the choice of the FIA is ridiculous and unacceptable. In the last race, they took an infinite time to decide while today a few seconds. There was no advantage gained by Charles. We will talk about it in the appropriate places, but this decision taken without even listening to drivers, is unacceptable as there was no advantage gained."

He added:

“Today it took them a moment to give the penalty to Leclerc. Three hours in Singapore with Perez, poor guy, who couldn’t even follow the Safety Car. Two identical infractions, but different penalties."

Stewards explained in their verdict that although the Ferrari driver did not gain a position by going off track, it was still deemed as gaining an advantage. The verdict said:

“Although car 16 did not gain a position by going off track, it was still deemed to have gained a lasting advantage. This determination takes into account the numerous driver briefings where the Race Directors advised that an 'advantage' would be considered as having been gained if you go off track and return in the same position while defending.”

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Ferrari's Charles Leclerc feels 5-second penalty was justified

Charles Leclerc admitted to his 'mistake' and said that penalty was justified.

"Well, I don't have much to say," said Leclerc. "I did a mistake and tried to minimise it by trying to go straight. I was not aware this was the last lap, but the five-second penalty was the right thing, to do be honest."

Reflecting on the race, the Ferrari driver said that tyre degradation was the key factor that worked against him. He said:

"We were very fast for four or five laps, but unfortunately, the race was a bit longer than that. The fronts were just gone after four or five laps, and after that, was all about trying to survive until the end of the race. The end was extremely difficult."

Leclerc has lost P2 in the championship to Perez and will look to regain it in the next four races of the season.