Martin Brundle Defends Charles Leclerc as Ferrari Driver Heads to Stewards After Miami GP Mistake

Charles Leclerc‘s final lap at the 2026 Miami Grand Prix was not a tidy one. After clipping the wall and limping around with a damaged Ferrari, he lost fourth place to both George Russell and Max Verstappen in the closing moments. He now faces a stewards’ hearing that covers multiple alleged offences simultaneously.

The stewards confirmed they will investigate Leclerc for continuing to race in an unsafe condition.

On top of that, he is separately under scrutiny for making minor contact with Russell on the final lap and for leaving the track multiple times and allegedly gaining an advantage. That is three investigations from one chaotic last tour of the Miami International Autodrome.

Sky Sports F1‘s Martin Brundle wasn’t ready to throw Leclerc under the bus for any of it.

“He got it home didn’t he. He had four wheels on it, all pointing roughly in the right direction,” Brundle said. “You can’t just go ‘I bumped the wall, I will park it and get out of the way’. George Russell’s car was every bit as unsafe and he carried on.”

The Wider Stewards’ Queue Is Long

Leclerc isn’t the only one with explaining to do after Miami.

Russell has been noted for moving under braking, while the Russell-Verstappen contact in the latter stages of the race is also under investigation.

Verstappen is also under investigation for supposedly crossing the white line at the pit exit after his stop, a four-time world champion who had already spun on the opening lap and fallen down the order, with FIA officials set to take a closer look once they had more information from the full 57-lap race distance.