Charles Leclerc Escapes Punishment for Unusual Double Practice Breach in Las Vegas

Charles Leclerc has avoided punishment for an alleged double practice breach in Las Vegas.

The Ferrari driver appeared to experience gearbox issues at the end of the shortened second practice session in Sin City, with two red flags waved just before the end of the session.

"Something's broken. Gearbox. Can I change gears or not?" Leclerc asked his engineers, to which they replied, "Don't change gears."

Leclerc was investigated after failing to switch off his car or kill the ERS on his Ferrari after it suddenly stopped.

However, the stewards decided not to take further action.

"The driver explained that before getting out of the car, he tried to neutralize it but failed. He then switched off the car and left it," they said.

"The marshals tried to neutralize it but failed. The driver then tried to help the marshals by turning the car back on to try and neutralize it, but the marshals, because they thought the car was not safe, asked him not to do it.

"Eventually, he convinced the marshals that the car was safe, and he switched off the engine."

Leclerc downplayed the incident, saying to Sky Sports F1: "The steering wheel on the car was back in place, there was a slight misunderstanding in all that happened, but everything will be alright."

Leclerc topped the first practice session in Las Vegas, before finishing third in FP2, 0.161s off the pace of McLaren's Lando Norris.

The second practice session was disrupted by two separate yellow flags due to a suspected loose cover on a hole on the final corner, Turn 17.

The delay and disruptions meant the true pecking order was impossible to work out heading into the final practice and qualifying sessions.

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