SHANGHAI: Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were disqualified from the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix after their cars failed the post-race checks.
The racers finished in fifth and sixth place, respectively, in the Shanghai race, but Leclerc’s car was found to be under the required weight limit, while Hamilton’s car was reported to the stewards for having excessive skid wear.
Moreover, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who finished 11th, was disqualified as his car did not meet the minimum weight requirement as well.
What happened to the cars?
Leclerc had suffered damage to his car’s front wing end plate during a first-lap collision with Hamilton, but the part was replaced before the car was weighed. Stewards then revealed that, after draining the fuel, Leclerc’s car weighed 799 kg, just under the required minimum weight of 800 kg. Also, the plank on Hamilton’s car was found to be thinner than the required minimum of nine mm.
Stewards said in a statement: “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.”
With this, Ferrari stated in a statement: “Charles was on a one-stop strategy today, and this meant his tyre wear was very high, causing the car to be underweight… With regard to Lewis’s 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.”
The disqualifications worked in Haas’ favour, as Esteban Ocon moved up to fifth and rookie Oliver Bearman climbed to eighth. Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli was promoted to sixth, while Alex Albon took seventh for Williams.
Furthermore, with Gasly’s disqualification, Lance Stroll secured ninth for Aston Martin, and Carlos Sains, despite finishing 13th, took the final points for Williams.
With this shocking news, netizens shared their thoughts and opinions on social media.
One netizen shared: “I’m no Lewis fan, but disqualification is a harsh penalty when he wasn’t on the podium, but rules are rules, and so long as they are enforced equally throughout the season to all, we can’t complain.”
Some expressed their doubts on the decision and shared: “Strange as Leclerc was weighed in qualifying, and they can’t make changes before the race… They always know how much fuel is in the car so the weight check should have rung alarm bells, or they gambled on breaking the rules.”
Moreover, another netizen stated his opinion about Hamilton being a cheater: “Lewis second race for Ferrari and he is already cheating again #newteamsamelewis“