Leclerc loses seventh to Lawson after five-second São Paulo GP penalty

Liam Lawson moves up to seventh in the São Paulo Grand Prix after Charles Leclerc received a five-second penalty for making contact with him at Junção. Leclerc crossed the line 1.816s ahead of the Racing Bulls driver. Once the penalty is applied, Lawson finishes 3.184s ahead and the Ferrari drops to eighth.

The stewards’ decision hinged on what happened after the contact. Lawson kept seventh through Turn 12. Leclerc got alongside later and completed the pass five corners after the cars touched. The stewards reviewed that sequence and concluded that the contact had helped the Ferrari close a gap it had yet to bridge on its own.

Why the stewards linked the contact to the pass

Lawson told the stewards that the touch damaged his left-rear wheel rim and brought Leclerc closer. Leclerc argued that the contact was minor and had no obvious sporting consequence. The stewards heard from both drivers and their team representatives, then reviewed positioning data, video and onboard footage.

Their first finding was that Lawson “had the right to the corner” under the FIA’s driving standards guidelines. That put the responsibility on Leclerc to avoid contact as the pair negotiated Junção.

Their second finding concerned the run that followed. They concluded that the touch disrupted Lawson and allowed Leclerc to get alongside from farther back. The written decision called that “an obvious sporting consequence”. The stewards accepted that the contact was minor and took the wet conditions into account, imposing five seconds instead of 10.

Lawson gains two points and Norris closes on Leclerc

Lawson started third after the grid penalties moved him onto the second row. He briefly ran second behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the opening stint. The post-race decision gives him six points for seventh and takes him to 89 for the season.

Leclerc gets four points for eighth and remains fifth in the drivers’ standings on 249. Race winner Lando Norris is sixth on 246, just three points behind. Ferrari falls to 510 points, still second in the constructors’ standings and 95 ahead of Red Bull. Racing Bulls moves up to 114 points. The two-point adjustment applies to both tables in the post-race championship standings.

Bearman keeps 17th after a separate penalty involving Leclerc

In a separate decision, the stewards added five seconds to Oliver Bearman’s race time. They found that Haas released him into the path of Leclerc, who had to brake and move towards the pit wall to avoid the car. Bearman remains 17th because he completed 70 laps, one more than Sergio Pérez in 18th.

Nico Hülkenberg stays 10th. He served his 10-second penalty at his final stop and then passed Arvid Lindblad for the last point. The penalty has already been accounted for in his result.

2026 São Paulo Grand Prix — Full results after the confirmed penalties

The table applies stewards’ documents 78 and 79 to the FIA’s provisional classification. At the time of writing, the FIA’s public index still listed the summonses over the pit-lane incident involving Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Franco Colapinto, with the decision yet to appear.

GRANDE PRÊMIO is following the São Paulo Grand Prix stewards’ decisions in Formula 1.