Ferrari Faces Challenges After Double Disqualification at Chinese Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc, a Ferrari driver, is eager to learn from the team’s mistakes after both cars were disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix. While teammate Lewis Hamilton clinched victory in the sprint race in Shanghai, views this result as an anomaly and anticipates a more consistent performance at the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend.

The Aftermath of Disqualification: Lessons to be Learned

In the pre-race press conference at Suzuka, Leclerc acknowledged the team’s errors, stating, “Whenever you make mistakes, you learn from them, especially when they cost that much.” Both disqualifications were due to technical infractions, with Leclerc’s car being marginally underweight and Hamilton’s having illegal skid plank wear.

The team is aware that these issues stemmed from running as close as possible to the permitted tolerances. Carrying excess ballast or adjusting ride height can cost fractions of a second per lap, and Ferrari was unlucky to exceed the limits with both cars. Hamilton’s disqualification was inevitable due to the smooth track conditions, but Leclerc’s could have potentially been avoided had he been more cautious during his cool-down lap.

The Road Ahead: Bridging the Gap to McLaren

Leclerc admitted that the first part of the season has been challenging, with both races proving difficult and the pace not meeting expectations. Losing additional points due to these technical infractions has significantly impacted the team.

Closing the gap between Ferrari and McLaren is not a simple matter of adjusting set-up or driver style. Each car has its performance ceiling, and reaching that maximum potential is always a challenge in Formula 1. Leclerc expressed confidence that they can gradually close the gap, starting from this weekend.

Despite the maturity of the ground-effect ruleset introduced in 2022, there is still a performance disparity between different cars. Ferrari views its performance in the sprint race in China as an outlier and expects to perform more consistently on Sundays. The team has made set-up changes to both cars after Hamilton’s victory in the sprint, with the aim of preserving tyre performance during longer races.

The Continuing Learning Process

Ferrari is still learning about its car and expects performances to vary according to track configurations, weather conditions, and race circumstances. This is why they view their performance in the sprint race in China as an outlier. They are hopeful of performing more consistently this weekend, aiming to be closer to their expected performance on Sundays than they were in Melbourne.