“Charles Leclerc didn’t gain an advantage”- Ferrari boss defends 5 GP winner last lap move as Max Verstappen wins the F1 title

Ferrari boss expressed his anger towards FIA’s decision and defended Charles Leclerc for not gaining an advantage over Sergio Perez. 

The 2022 Japanese GP from the start was filled with drama and it ended with an awkward championship announcement for Max Verstappen. Of all the drama, the primary highlight was Charles Leclerc getting a 5 seconds penalty due to his last-lap move against Sergio Perez. 

Ferrari chief Binotto observed all this and shared his anger towards the decision while congratulating Max Verstappen for the championship.

He also pointed out the last week’s Singapore decision when FIA had to take considerable time to award Perez a five seconds penalty. 

Swiss-born Italian principal said, “Congratulations to Max. I don’t want to comment on the penalty because it’s ridiculous that they spent 3 hours in Singapore but only a few minutes here.”

He pointed out FIA did not hear the driver’s opinion on the matter and defended Charles’s position on the last lap move. He said, “Today they didn’t want to hear from the drivers, in Singapore they did. Charles didn’t gain an advantage.”

🎙️| Binotto:

“Congratulations to Max.”

“I don’t want to comment on the penalty because it’s ridiculous that they spent 3 hours in Singapore, but only a few minutes here. Today they didn’t want to hear from the drivers, in Singapore they did. Charles didn’t gain an advantage.”

— Ferrari News 🐎 (@FanaticsFerrari) October 9, 2022

What had happened on the last lap? 

The last-lap controversy between Charles Leclerc and Checo Perez ended with a surprising decision by the FIA. Fans were angry about the points distribution, but the penalty to Charles added frustration for fans. 

 The last-lap battle between Checo Perez and Charles Leclerc was fun and entertaining for the F1 community. However, the controversy around the last corner as Charles went off track.

The move also frustrated Checo Perez during the race. It led FIA to hand 5 seconds time penalty to the Ferrari driver for gaining an advantage.

Who’s at the fault here?

Although Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc did indeed take advantage of Redbull’s car in the last lap, the decision should’ve come at an appropriate time.

Moreover, FIA not hearing the driving opinion on the incident made things confusing, which Ferrari principal Binotto pointed out. 

There are so many characters in this story, and blaming a single person is not feasible. However, FIA should consider these things in the future to reduce such confusion around these issues. 

Also read: F1 Twitter reacts to absurd second championship title win for Max Verstappen