Stroll gets early grid penalty for Leclerc collision

Lance Stroll has been given a one-place grid penalty for the Monaco Grand Prix for causing a collision with Charles Leclerc in the opening practice session.

Leclerc was on a timed lap early in FP1 when approaching the hairpin, where Stroll – on a cooldown lap – had moved to the inside to let through traffic. After letting a Mercedes through, Stroll then returned to the racing line before turning into the hairpin, but Leclerc was already committed to his braking point and had no way of avoiding running into the back of the Aston Martin.

The incident resulted in Leclerc losing half of his front wing and require repairs, while Stroll’s session was ended due to rear suspension damage and the need to change his gearbox.

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The stewards spoke to both drivers after the session and deemed Stroll was wholly at fault for the incident, handing him a one-place grid penalty despite it occurring during practice.

“The driver of Car 18 stated that although the team warned him of the arrival of Car 16, he did not hear the radio message and that led to the incident,” the stewards’ decision read. “We considered that Car 18 was wholly to blame for the collision. Car 16 was not in a position to avoid the collision that took place.”

Stroll was also handed one penalty point for the collision, leaving him with a total of three points over the past 12 months.