Ferrari’s Double Disqualification Explained

The Ferrari Formula 1 team faced a disappointing end to the Chinese Grand Prix weekend after both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were disqualified following post-race scrutineering. Despite finishing fifth and sixth respectively at the Shanghai International Circuit, the pair failed to meet the weight regulations.

Excessive Tyre Wear and Misjudged Calculations

The team attributed Leclerc’s underweight car to excessive tyre wear caused by the unexpected one-stop race strategy at the Chinese Grand Prix. They claimed that the high tyre wear was responsible for the car being under the weight limit. However, Ferrari admitted their mistake in misjudging Hamilton’s skid wear before Saturday qualifying.

The team stated, “Following the FIA post-race scrutineering, both our cars were found not to conform to the regulations for different reasons. Car 16 was found to be underweight by 1kg and car 44’s rearward skid wear was found to be 0.5mm below the limit.”

The double disqualification cost Ferrari 18 constructors’ points, but they vowed to investigate what went wrong and learn from their errors. “We will learn from what happened today and make sure we don’t make the same mistakes again,” the statement continued.

Impact on the Race Results

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly could have benefitted from Ferrari‘s double exclusion, but he too lost 11th place for being below the weight limit. In his stead, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Williams driver Carlos Sainz moved into the points.

The Haas team was the biggest benefactor from Ferrari‘s disqualification as Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman moved up to fifth and eighth respectively, scoring a whopping 14 points in Shanghai.

A Disappointing End to an Exciting Race

The team expressed their disappointment at the end of the Chinese GP weekend, acknowledging that it was not the way they wanted to end the race. “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,” the statement concluded.