Japanese GP: Ferrari boss slams stewards, Charles Leclerc disagrees with Binotto

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto was furious with the race stewards at the Japanese Grand Prix after they handed out a five-second time penalty to Charles Leclerc within minutes of the incident. The Monegasque driver accepted the punishment and feels it was fair after his off-track excursion in the closing stages of the race.

Binotto was not present at Suzuka having returned to Italy following the Singapore Grand Prix. The Italian team principal, who was following the race from the Ferrari HQ in Maranello, was unhappy with stewards' eagerness to hand Leclerc the penalty that saw Sergio Perez take second place despite finishing third on track.

The Ferrari chief was referring to the previous race in Singapore when the stewards waited until much later to penalise Perez for his safety car infringement. The Red Bull Racing driver finished 7.5 seconds ahead of Leclerc, and was handed a five-second penalty post the race, which did not affect the final result.

"How fast the FIA took the decision to sanction Leclerc, it is ridiculous and unacceptable. Last race it took them an infinite number of laps to take a nonsense decision. We will protest in the appropriate offices," Binotto said, as quoted by The Mirror.

There is a possibility Leclerc could have maintained the gap under five seconds in Singapore to take the race win had the penalty been decided prior to the end. But, with Ferrari expecting a 10 second penalty, the Monegasque managed his tyres to keep it within their time frame.

However, Leclerc was quick to accept his mistake on the final lap of the Japanese Grand Prix. The five-time F1 race winner feels the penalty was justified, as he did gain an advantage by going straight at the final chicane with Perez in close pursuit.

"Well, I don't have much to say," Leclerc told reporters after the race. "I did a mistake and tried to minimise it by trying to go straight. I was not aware this was the last lap but the five-second penalty was the right thing to be honest."

While Max Verstappen claimed his second title in Suzuka, Red Bull still have to wrap up the Constructors' Championship, which is also a formality at this stage. The other battle is for second place in the Drivers' standings with Perez and Leclerc separated by just a point with four races remaining.