Charles Leclerc has been given a punishment by the FIA stewards in Brazil, over his use of an expletive in a press conference.

The Ferrari driver’s use of the ‘F-word’ in the post-race press conference last weekend in Mexico has resulted in him being slapped with a €5000 fine.

Charles Leclerc fined over expletive use in FIA press conference

Following his third-place finish in Mexico, Leclerc was addressing the media in the FIA press conference when he was asked about his dramatic wayward moment while defending against Lando Norris through the final corner.

Leclerc had almost lost control of his Ferrari and narrowly avoided the barriers, and he replayed the incident via explanation as he addressed the question of what he’d said to himself as Norris went through to take second.

“I don’t know which face I did, but it had to be a pretty stressful one because when I lost it… I knew that I had to do everything perfect,” Leclerc said.

“I mean, Lando was so quick at that time. So again, I felt like it was a matter of laps, but I was still trying to do everything possible for him to overheat behind me and keep him as long as possible behind me. So, I tried to have the best exit possible.

“I could see that he was very close out of that corner. I lost the rear and then you forget about Lando and you just hope that you are going to take it back.

“I had one oversteer and then when I recovered from that oversteer, I had an oversteer from the other side and then I was like, ‘F**k’!”

Realising what he’d said, Leclerc laughed, “Oh, sorry! Oh, no, oh no! I don’t want to join Max!”

This was in reference to a recent incident in which Max Verstappen had reffered to his Red Bull as being “f**ked” in a press conference in Singapore as he spoke about the previous round in Baku.

The incident resulted in Verstappen being summoned before the stewards, and hit with a ‘community service’ punishment which will see him carry out work in the public interest as contrition.

Verstappen was less than impressed by the punishment, clamming up in FIA press conferences for the rest of the weekend, and instead choosing to make his points via private media sessions in the Red Bull motorhome.

Leclerc’s transgression amused Mexico City GP winner Carlos Sainz, who asked his Ferrari teammate, “You have your wallet here?” as Leclerc looked around guiltily after using the word.

Leclerc was reported to the stewards by the FIA Media Delegate, with the Ferrari driver summoned to discuss his vocabulary, over the Brazilian GP weekend.

The verdict, released on Friday evening in Brazil, was a fine of €10,000 – €5000 of this being suspended on the condition that there is “no further breach of a similar nature within the next 12 months.

Why Charles Leclerc escaped Max Verstappen’s community service punishment

The FIA stewards also explained why Leclerc was not given the same punishment as Verstappen, despite both drivers being in breach of Article 12.2.1.k of the FIA’s International Sporting Code (ISC), related to misconduct.

“The Stewards noted that the language was not directed at anyone or any group and that Leclerc immediately apologised,” read the verdict.

“During the hearing, Leclerc expressed his regret for his momentary lack of judgment and shared that he understood his responsibility as a role model for the sport.

“The Stewards considered the mitigation factor that Leclerc was immediately apologetic.

The Stewards, while noting that the driver’s contrite behaviour, conclude that a breach has occurred and a penalty is warranted.

“The Stewards do not consider that this breach reached the same level as the most recent case [eg. Verstappen’s] and, as such, chose to levy a fine of €10,000 with €5,000 suspended pending no repeat within 12 months.”

The clampdown on the use of bad language has come in recent months, following the addition of a broad “Any misconduct” article in the ISC, with the FIA outlining that the policy of the governing body is to “ensure that language used in its public forums, such as press conferences, meets generally accepted standards for all audiences and broadcasts.

“In particular, this is true of statements made by participants in the World Championships and thus being role models both inside and outside the sport. This is clear in the regulations of the FIA and has been reinforced through previous cases brought before the Stewards”.