FIA stewards make Charles Leclerc penalty decision after meeting with F1 drivers | F1 | Sport

On the opening lap, Hamilton took out George Russell as the pair battled for position, resulting in the Mercedes driver being forced to retire. It looked nothing more than a racing incident, which Russell agreed with, but Hamilton was hit with a five-second penalty by the stewards.

A handful of laps later, Leclerc tangled with Piastri by moving under braking, despite the Australian making no genuine attempt to overtake.

However, on that occasion, the stewards decided not to hand down any penalties. That inconsistently was discussed at a meeting between drivers and the FIA ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, according to The Race.

It’s claimed the stewards have now accepted that Leclerc should have been punished after a “lengthy debate” among those in attendance.

The meeting was the first of two annual gatherings to discuss how incidents are dealt with and potential changes to F1’s driving guidelines.

The report adds that Leclerc argued the situation in Belgium was not entirely black-and-white, although he previously conceded that he may have overstepped the mark.

Reflecting on his battle with Piastri, he said: “At the end of the day my view in the car is that I try to push the things to the limit.

“I think with Oscar it was a bit on the other side, so that’s probably not the way I want to race all the time. It’s also risky for me at the end of the day. You’re always trying to leave the smallest place available. That was maybe a bit too sketchy.”

Leclerc will be hoping to avoid any similar incidents in Hungary this weekend as Ferrari look to head into the summer break on a positive note.