Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc hit with fines for…

Both Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc have been fined for arriving late to the FIA’s Thursday press conference in Monaco.

As a result, McLaren and Ferrari have picked up fines of €5000 each, suspended for 12 months pending no further offences of this nature.

Norris and Leclerc had to face the stewards on Friday morning to explain themselves. Arriving late to a press conference is a relatively low-tariff offence but it is a breach of Article B10 of the FIA F1 regulations, which sets the requirements around media activities and official ceremonies for all competitors.

In their finding, the stewards defined the infringement thus: “Breach of Article B10.1.1a of the FIA F1 regulations and Articles 12.2.1.i and 12.2.1.p of the FIA International Sporting Code.”

For its Thursday press conference the FIA selects six drivers who must then appear – on time – for the session, which generally takes place after lunch. In recent years the format has been for the drivers to appear three at a time, with the session divided into two half-hour sections.

The session is televised live, hence the requirement for punctuality. Article B10 of the F1 regulations specifically defines what is required of all competitors on a day-by-day basis, including attendance on the grid for the national anthem.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (Photo by: Erik Junius)

All drivers not selected to appear in the Thursday press conference are required to be present at separate sessions throughout the day, which must not be scheduled in conflict with each other or the FIA conference.

Both Norris and Leclerc explained that they were “delayed at a previous commitment” but this is not enough to warrant mitigation in such a breach. The Monaco Grand Prix has been in existence for nearly 100 years and the building in which the press conferences are held was not erected recently, so there are few excuses for being late.

In 2024 Max Verstappen was to the Thursday conference in Austria because of heavy traffic on the way to the track, but he went unpunished because the team notified the FIA in advance.

Still, this is considered a lesser offence than being late to the national anthem, for instance. In Japan last season Carlos Sainz was five seconds late for the national anthem on the pre-grid, having been forced to attend to an emergency call of nature, resulting in a fine of €20,000 – mitigated down from the standard tariff of €60,000.

Under the Article 9.15.1 of the FIA’s International Sporting Code, the competitor is considered responsible for its drivers, hence the teams are expected to pay the fines.