Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have been removed from the results of the Chinese Grand Prix because their cars did not pass post-race technical inspections.
Leclerc and Hamilton, driving for Ferrari, originally finished fifth and sixth in the Shanghai race. However, their cars were found to violate two separate technical regulations during checks by the FIA technical delegate.
Leclerc`s car was found to be 1kg below the minimum weight limit, while Hamilton`s car was disqualified due to excessive wear on the skid block. This skid block issue, related to the plank under the car, is the same problem that led to Hamilton, then driving for Mercedes, losing his second-place finish at the United States GP in 2023.
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Ferrari stated that Leclerc`s one-stop strategy led to high tire wear, causing the car to be underweight. Regarding Hamilton`s skid wear, they admitted misjudging the consumption by a small amount.
“There was no intention to gain any advantage,” Ferrari added. “We will learn from today`s events to prevent similar mistakes in the future. This is not how we wanted to conclude our Chinese GP weekend, neither for ourselves nor for our devoted fans.”
2) Lando Norris, McLaren
3) George Russell, Mercedes
4) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
5) Esteban Ocon, Haas
6) Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
7) Alex Albon, Williams
8) Oliver Bearman, Haas
9) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
10) Carlos Sainz, Williams
Stewards stated that there were “no mitigating circumstances” and the team acknowledged it was “a genuine error.”
The disqualifications mean Ferrari lost 18 crucial points in the Constructors` Championship, dropping them to fifth place behind Williams and 61 points behind leaders McLaren. Hamilton is now ninth in the Drivers` Championship with nine points, and Leclerc is tenth with eight points. Lando Norris leads the championship with 44 points.
Alpine`s Pierre Gasly, who finished 11th, was also disqualified for being underweight after the race.
Why was Hamilton disqualified?
Similar to the 2023 Austin incident, Hamilton`s Ferrari SF-25 car`s plank assembly thickness was found to be less than the minimum 9mm requirement during post-race checks. This issue is particularly relevant in Sprint weekends with limited practice time.
Measurements showed the skid block thickness at 8.6mm on the left, 8.6mm in the center, and 8.5mm on the right.
F1 teams aim to run cars as low as possible for aerodynamic benefits but must ensure skid blocks meet minimum wear limits during the race.
Before his disqualification, Hamilton mentioned struggling with the car`s performance after setup changes following a strong Sprint race. He described the changes as making the car “quite a bit worse” for qualifying and the race, making it difficult to compete with leading cars.
When asked about ride-height adjustments, Hamilton denied raising the car significantly, stating that “small amounts” of changes combined had a negative impact. He referenced a setup direction tested by Leclerc in Bahrain, which proved to be “bad.”
Why was Leclerc disqualified?
Leclerc`s Ferrari, along with Gasly`s Alpine, was found to be 1kg underweight.
Even considering the damaged front wing from a first-lap incident with Hamilton, Leclerc`s car was still underweight after fuel drainage and sample extraction.
FIA delegate Jo Bauer explained that after weighing the car at 800.0kg (minimum weight), and re-weighing it with a spare front wing to account for damage, the weight became 800.5kg. After fuel draining, the weight dropped to 799.0kg, below the minimum limit.
Technical regulation breaches in F1 typically have no tolerance, regardless of the performance impact.
Marcus Prine