Lewis Hamilton’s rollercoaster start to life at Ferrari continued as he was dramatically disqualified after the conclusion of the Chinese Grand Prix.
After the highs of Saturday’s victory in the sprint race, having shockingly qualified on pole the previous day, Hamilton’s weekend took a downward turn come Sunday’s full race.
Having made contact with Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc on the opening lap, causing damage to the Monegasque’s front wing, the Brit struggled for pace around the Shanghai racetrack – resorting to a two-stop strategy in the desperate hope that fresh tyres would help him find some extra speed.
That turned out to be a forlorn hope however, as he eventually crossed the line in sixth, one spot behind Leclerc and well off the pace of dominant McLaren pair Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris up front, who sealed a one-two.
Things then got worse for the seven-time world champion as he was disqualified after the race, seeing the eight points wiped from his championship tally. It was an incredibly busy post-race period for the stewards and F1 officials as Leclerc and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly were also disqualified alongside Hamilton.
Here’s everything you need to know about the disqualifications:
Why was Lewis Hamilton disqualified?
Hamilton’s Ferrari failed its post-race checks, with the car’s skid block found to be below the minimum thickness. According to FIA rules, that warrants a disqualification.
Analysis from the scrutineers showed that the rearmost skid thickness was below the minimum limit of 9mm, registering 8.6mm at two points and 8.5mm at another.
A document released explaining the decision read: “The plank assembly of Car 44 was measured and found to be 8.6mm (LHS), 8.6mm (car centerline) and 8.5mm (RHS). This is below the minimum thickness of 9mm specified under Article 3.5.9 of the Technical Regulations.
“During the hearing the team representative confirmed that the measurement is correct and that all required procedures were performed correctly. The team also acknowledged that there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was a genuine error by the team.
“The Stewards determine that Article 3.5.9 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations has been breached and therefore the standard penalty of a disqualification needs to be applied for such an infringement.”
This is not the first time Hamilton has been disqualified for a race because of this issue, with something similar occurring at the 2023 United States Grand Prix when he drove for Mercedes – a race where, ironically, Leclerc was also DQed for the same problem.
Ferrari released a statement confirming that they agreed with the decision and took the blame for the mistake.
Why were Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly disqualified?
Hamilton’s Ferrari teammate Leclerc and Gasly of Alpine, who finished 11th, were also disqualified in the aftermath of the Chinese GP for the more straightforward reason that their cars were found to be underweight.
While Leclerc’s damaged front wing may indeed have made his car lighter, teams are allowed to replace obviously damaged parts, so after weighing the Ferrari with the missing endplate, it was also weighed with a spare front wing fitted.
However, once fuel was drained from the Ferrari, it was found to be underweight on both occasions. Once the fuel was drained, the FIA scales showed the weight to be 799.0kg, which is 1.0kg below the minimum car weight stated in the F1 rules.
Gasly’s Alpine underwent the same process and was also weighted at 799.0kg and thus below the limit, meaning both cars were DQed for breaching technical regulations.
Both Ferrari and Alpine accepted the disqualifications.
This is not the first time a car has been disqualified for being underweight, with George Russell suffering a DQ after last year’s Belgian Grand Prix, which cost him the win. At the time, Mercedes speculated that excessive tyre wear was the cause.
How have the disqualifications changed the standings?
With Hamilton, Leclerc and Gasly all excluded from the race, Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz were promoted into the points from 12th and 13th respectively.
Meanwhile, the drivers that finished from seventh to 10th, in the points but behind the Ferrari pair, all moved up two places. They were Esteban Ocon, Kimi Antonelli, Alex Albon and Oliver Bearman.
Hamilton and Leclerc’s points for their sixth and fifth place finish – eight and 10 respectively – are wiped from their championship tally, although the DQ does not impact Hamilton’s sprint race victory on Saturday, for which he secured eight points.
It means the Ferrari duo are now ninth and 10th in the nascent F1 Drivers’ Championship standings.
F1 driver standings top 10 after Chinese Grand Prix
- 1. Lando Norris – 44 points
- 2. Max Verstappen – 36 points
- 3. George Russell – 35 points
- 4. Oscar Piastri – 34 points
- 5. Kimi Antonelli – 22 points
- 6. Alex Albon – 16 points
- 7. Esteban Ocon – 10 points
- 8. Lance Stroll – 10 points
- 9. Lewis Hamilton – 9 points
- 10. Charles Leclerc – 8 points
