Charles Leclerc and Liam Lawson made minor contact in the closing stages of Sunday’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, catching the eye of the stewards.

Lawson was one of the drivers to benefit when Leclerc was demoted from fourth on the grid to 14th due to an engine penalty. The Racing Bulls driver started P3, his joint-highest grid slot in F1.

Predictably, they converged during the race as Leclerc moved forward and Lawson was picked off by some faster cars, but this was one of the last battles to be settled.

Martin Brundle thinks Charles Leclerc’s first move on Liam Lawson was unfair

Hunting Lawson for seventh place, Leclerc tried an unorthodox move up the inside of the tight Juncao corner, and the two drivers collided.

Lawson emerged ahead despite the bump, but he had to defend the position again into turn one. The Ferrari driver finally got the move done on the blast out of turn three, though the two drivers were summoned to the stewards.

Brundle doesn’t think the overtake would have been legal if Leclerc had got ahead on the previous lap.

“Leclerc’s lucky there [that] he wasn’t leading over the line, because he might have been told to hand that place back,” he explained.

How Charles Leclerc justified his move on Liam Lawson

Asked about the incident by French broadcaster Canal Plus, Leclerc explained that he had to take a risk because he was down on straight-line speed.

The Red Bull engine is known to be superior to the Ferrari, but Leclerc suspects he may have had an additional power issue.

“It was pretty intense with Liam,” said Leclerc. “Obviously, we know that in the wet, it’s a little bit more slippery, so you can afford to lean a little bit more on the car next to you, which is what I did with Liam, otherwise it would have been difficult.”

He added: “On the straights, though, we were losing a huge amount of time, so that’s something we’ll have to look into. I knew that was really my only opportunity, and I had to take it, which I did.

“Then I used the boost well, and this time I managed to stay more or less alongside him. But yeah, I was happy at least to have taken my opportunity when I had it with Liam.”

Lawson did at least manage to finish ahead of the other Ferrari as Lewis Hamilton’s decision to stay out on the slick tyres during a late shower backfired. Hamilton spun en route to his eventual pit stop, which removed any prospect of beating the Kiwi.

Not only, then, was Lawson the lead midfield driver once again, but he managed to beat one of the traditional front-runners.