Photo Credit:Associated Press
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc Disqualified from Chinese GP
Ferrari's promising Chinese Grand Prix weekend ended in disaster as both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified for technical infringements. The decision, announced hours after the race, stripped the team of 18 crucial championship points.
Hamilton, who had finished sixth, saw his car fail post-race scrutineering when FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer found the skid block thickness beneath his SF-25 measured below the minimum 9mm requirement. Measurements showed 8.6mm on the left side, 8.6mm at center, and 8.5mm on the right side.
"With regard to Lewis' skid wear, we misjudged the consumption by a small margin," Ferrari admitted in their statement following the disqualifications. This marks Hamilton's second such disqualification, following a similar incident at the 2023 United States Grand Prix while driving for Mercedes.
Leclerc's car, which had crossed the line fifth despite carrying damage from a first-lap collision with Hamilton, was found 1kg underweight after fuel drainage. The FIA statement confirmed: "The car was weighed again on the FIA scales (with the official spare front wing assembly of car 16) and the weight was 799.0kg."
Ferrari explained Leclerc's infringement resulted from his one-stop strategy: "Charles was on a one-stop strategy today and this meant his tire wear was very high, causing the car to be underweight."
Alpine's Pierre Gasly also faced disqualification for weight violations, making it three cars removed from the final classification. The stewards were unequivocal, stating "there are no mitigating circumstances" despite Ferrari insisting "there was no intention to gain any advantage."
The double disqualification dramatically reshuffled the standings, with Haas emerging as unexpected beneficiaries. Esteban Ocon moved up to fifth, while rookie teammate Oliver Bearman claimed eighth. Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli rose to sixth, with Williams' Alex Albon securing seventh.
The penalties dropped Ferrari to fifth in the Constructors' Championship, now trailing leaders McLaren by 61 points. Hamilton sits ninth in the Drivers' standings with just nine points—eight from his Sprint victory on Saturday—while Leclerc follows in tenth with eight points.
Prior to learning of his disqualification, Hamilton had expressed frustration with his car's performance: "We made some changes because we were trying to move forwards and improve the car and we made it quite a bit worse," he told Sky Sports Italy. "Very, very hard to keep up with the guys ahead."
Ferrari concluded their statement with determination: "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."
