Leclerc keeps Australian GP F1 pole after being cleared over in-lap time

Leclerc, along with Zhou Guanyu and Yuki Tsunoda, had been summoned by the stewards for an "alleged breach of Article 33.4" of the FIA sporting regulations about failing to adhere to a minimum time on a qualifying in-lap, which could potentially be dangerous for oncoming traffic on a hotlap.

Leclerc and Zhou's offences occurred in Q1, while Tsunoda's was in Q2.

In Q3 the Monegasque driver went on to take pole by almost three tenths over Red Bull's Max Verstappen, pending any potential sanctions by the stewards.

But the FIA has now cleared Leclerc of any wrongdoing after accepting his explanation for his slow in-lap.

The 2022 championship leader explained that he was not originally on an in-lap, but rather on a cooldown lap to get his tyres ready for another flyer, a regular practice with Pirelli's new-for-2022 18-inch tyres.

However, Leclerc decided halfway through the lap to come in after all and went out of his way to stay clear of faster cars, hence his slower in-lap.

In their verdict the stewards explained they therefore decided not to take any further action, rather than giving Leclerc the customary reprimand.

"LEC started a lap that was intended to be a cool down lap, not an in lap, which would not be subject to the minimum time restriction of the regulation," the statement said.

"Part way through the lap, the decision was made to come in. During the lap there was heavy traffic and LEC took effort to ensure that he did not impede other drivers on push laps. These efforts significantly slowed his lap time. As a result, the minimum time was breached.

"The Stewards accept the driver’s rationale for his actions; find that he acted reasonably under the circumstances; and, therefore, take no further action."

Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT03

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

Alfa Romeo driver Zhou similarly argued he failed to stay below the minimum time due to his efforts to stay out of the way of traffic and was also cleared.

Tsunoda, however, was given a reprimand after the stewards deemed that the AlphaTauri driver did not face any significant traffic that plausibly slowed him down.

Tsunoda has now collected three reprimands for impeding offences in 2022. In previous seasons that would have yielded the Japanese driver an automatic 10-place grid penalty, but for 2022 the limit has been raised from three to five reprimands.

According to the FIA's updated sporting regulations a penalty will only be handed out if at least four of those infringements are driving related.