Six drivers summoned before qualifying after dramatic on-track incidents at Monza

Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, and Daniel Ricciardo were off to see the stewards after final practice at Monza ahead of the Italian Grand Prix.

An incident during the third practice at Monza earned the attention of the stewards, with Leclerc, Piastri, and Ricciardo all being called up to explain their part in the matter.

Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc stumble over each other

During the third practice session, Piastri came across Leclerc as the McLaren driver was on a push lap and clearly felt he had been baulked by the Ferrari .

With Leclerc pulling aside out of the first chicane to allow Piastri past, he put up a hand in apology as Piastri moved over on him to crowd the Ferrari as Leclerc took to team radio to say “I thought he was further away, my bad”.

Moments later, Piastri slowed coming out of the second Lesmo in a bid to allow Leclerc past him.

However, Piastri’s fade over to the right of the track came just as the Monegasque had committed to passing him on the right, resulting in the gap narrowing rapidly for Leclerc, who ended up putting wheels on the grass as the duo slowed in realisation of what was unfolding.

Leclerc radioed in to say “I nearly shunted with Oscar.”

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Directly behind the duo was VCARB’s Daniel Ricciardo, who also had to slam on the brakes to slow up behind the blockage of Piastri and Leclerc, with the other Australian saying “Gosh!” before being informed of Piastri’s previous incident with Leclerc.

“Yeah, that was a mess,” Ricciardo replied.

The stewards were eager to get to the bottom of what happened and summoned all three drivers to explain what happened through their eyes, with the summons coming before qualifying.

There was a verdict of no further action from the stewards, with the FIA clarifying the drivers had agreed they had simply misread the entire situation.

“The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 81 (Oscar Piastri), the driver of Car 16 (Charles Leclerc), the driver of Car 3 (Daniel Ricciardo), team representatives and reviewed video, team radio and in-car video evidence,” read the verdict.

“At the approach to Turn 7, Piastri and Leclerc, on cool down laps, were both aware, via radio, of the approach of Ricciardo on a push lap.

“After the apex, Piastri saw Leclerc behind, and believed he would stay behind, as Leclerc had been behind for some time. He also checked his mirrors and expected Ricciardo to overtake him on the left, so he moved further to the right to allow more space for Ricciardo.

Leclerc, however, thought Piastri would remain on the left, and decided that it would make more room for Ricciardo, if he overtook Piastri on the right and moved ahead of him.

“In making the overtake, Leclerc had to put two wheels off the track to avoid Piastri, who was moving to the right.

“Ricciardo stated that he saw both cars side by side and decided to abort his lap rather than risk trying to pass them.

“The three drivers and their representatives agreed that the situation was caused through a misunderstanding by Piastri and Leclerc about each other’s intentions, which were both well-intended.

“The Stewards agree with this conclusion and decide to take no further action.”

Separately, Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez have been summoned for a failure to follow the race director’s event notes regarding the use of the escape road at Turn 4, having gone off, separately, into the escape area towards the end of the session.

Williams rookie Franco Colapinto has also been summoned for a practice start infringement at the very end of the session.

Stroll’s transgression has resulted in no further action, with the Canadian having explained that it would have been “challenging” at the speed he was travelling, to make a significant (at that speed) turn to the right (then the left), to get around the newly-installed green bollard mentioned in the event notes.

“The Aston Martin team representative also made the point that this was the first time the drivers had seen the bollard,” read the verdict, “as it was added overnight and that there was some confusion following the drivers’ briefing as to where the bollard would be located.

“The driver also stated that in trying to get around the bollard a driver could well be turning into the path of another car that had gone straight ahead at Turn 4. He suggested that the location of the bollard should be reconsidered or, in fact, the bollard could be removed.”

The hearings for Perez and Colapinto will be held after qualifying.

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