Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc were summoned to report to the Monaco stewards on Friday morning after both arrived late to the FIA’s pre-event drivers’ press conference on Thursday. The session in Monaco began a few minutes later than planned after the two drivers missed the start.
The summons came after a document issued Thursday afternoon said Norris, Leclerc and team representatives from McLaren and Ferrari had been called before the stewards over an alleged breach of Article B10.1.1.a of the FIA F1 Regulations, which covers late attendance of the Thursday Press Conference. The matter is being handled before any track action has started at the Monaco Grand Prix, which is why it has drawn attention even though it is not connected to on-track racing.
For Norris, who has become one of Formula One’s most searched drivers, the timing matters because Monaco is one of the sport’s most scrutinized weekends and every FIA procedural issue is amplified before the cars turn a lap. Leclerc, racing on home ground in Monaco, was the other driver named in the case, and the teams were pulled in with their representatives rather than leaving the matter solely to the drivers themselves.
There is, however, a familiar pattern behind the complaint. The stewards have dealt with late-press-conference cases before, including one involving Lewis Hamilton ahead of the 2023 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, when he arrived a few minutes after the start of Thursday’s press conference. In that case Mercedes received a reprimand, with the stewards noting Hamilton’s schedule was extremely busy because it was his home race and that it was difficult for him to move through the paddock. That precedent makes a sporting penalty for Norris and Leclerc look unlikely, even if the FIA has decided the pair should answer for the delay.
The key issue now is not whether the two are in trouble with the stewards — they are — but what the Monaco officials decide after hearing from the drivers and their teams. If the precedent holds, the outcome may stop short of anything that affects either driver on track, leaving the reprimand and the warning as the real consequence. For now, the case is a reminder that in Formula One, even a press conference can become part of the weekend’s competitive machinery.
