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McLaren driver Lando Norris hilariously poked fun at Charles Leclerc after he was given a three-place grid drop for impeding the British driver.
The Ferrari driver was found guilty to be blocking Norris, who was on a fast lap in the dying moments of the qualifying session at the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix. Leclerc, who had already completed his session, was seen weaving in the tunnel section and unknowingly intruded Norris's lap.
After Charles Leclerc was given a three-place penalty for his actions, Norris took to social media to post a meme about the famous Leclerc-Verstappen collision during their junior days.
In his post-qualifying interview, Norris said:
"With Charles's incident, it's always tough around here. I guess it did ruin my lap. But the stewards obviously deemed it necessary, I guess. I think he did what he could. But when you listen to the team radio, they're just telling him about Verstappen's lap and giving him live updates, rather than concentrating on who's behind him, which I don't really understand. But it is what it is."
"It was a very tricky qualifying on a weekend where I have struggled quite a lot with the car" - Charles Leclerc
The Monagasque driver qualified P3 for his home race on Sunday but will start from P6 after the penalty. He stated that it was a 'tricky' session and never really had the car under control.
As per Ferrari's official website, Charles Leclerc said:
"It was a very tricky qualifying on a weekend where I have struggled quite a lot with the car. I think our SF-23 is not handling the bumps so well but in qualifying it was a bit more alive and we managed to secure P3, very close to the pole position time. A qualifying lap here is like nowhere else on the calendar and it feels really good to drive.
He added:
"So all in all I can be happy but I would of course have preferred to be first. For tomorrow, I need a bit more luck than in the past years here. The forecast says there is a chance of rain and if that is the case anything is possible. I will go for it anyway and then we will see where we end up."
Charles Leclerc has not stood on the podium in his previous four attempts at Monaco and is still looking for a maiden win in his hometown principality.
