Ferrari takes responsibility for Hamilton and Leclerc disqualifications at the Chinese GP
Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool
Ferrari has admitted to "mistakes" after Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix post-race on Sunday. Both drivers, who finished fifth and sixth respectively, were removed from the final standings due to technical infringements: Leclerc for an underweight car and Hamilton for excessive skid-plank wear.
After race scrutineering, the FIA also found Alpine's Pierre Gasly in breach, leading to his disqualification from the 11th position.
In a statement, Ferrari explained the disqualifications — the first in its 75-year Formula 1 history — and acknowledged its errors. "Following the FIA post-race scrutineering, both our cars were found not to conform to the regulations for different reasons," the statement read. "Car 16 was found to be underweight by 1 kg and car 44's rearward skid wear was found to be 0.5mm below the limit."
“Charles was on a one-stop strategy today, meaning his tire wear was very high, causing the car to be underweight. With regard to Lewis' skid wear, we misjudged the consumption by a small margin. There was no intention to gain any advantage. We will learn from what happened today and make sure we don't make the same mistakes again. Clearly, it's not the way we wanted to end our Chinese GP weekend, neither for ourselves nor for our fans whose support for us is unwavering."
According to FIA regulations, cars must weigh 800 kilograms after the race once their remaining fuel has been drained. Both Leclerc's Ferrari and Gasly's Alpine were initially at the limit but were found to be one kilogram under post-fuel draining. Leclerc had also lost his car's front wing end plate in a first-lap collision with Hamilton, which was replaced before the final weighing.
Hamilton's skid wear was below the 9mm permitted by regulations. Plank wear, measured by the FIA, ensures cars are not running too low in an attempt to gain aerodynamic performance.
Ferrari's acknowledgment of their oversight and commitment to learning from the disqualifications highlights the commitment to adhering to technical regulations in the competitive world of Formula 1 racing.
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