Via F1 – ZENDO News – https://zendonews.com/2025/03/23/pierre-gasly-charles-leclerc-and-lewis-hamilton-have-been-disqualified-from-the-chinese-grand-prix/

Pierre and Charles’ cars were found to be underweight, while Lewis’ car was deemed to have excessive skid wear.

Lewis Hamilton has been disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix after the rear skid block on his Ferrari was found to be under the minimum thickness required in the technical regulations, meaning that both of the team’s drivers have lost their results given that Charles Leclerc has also been disqualified for a car weight breach.

After his victory in the Sprint on Saturday, Hamilton faced a more challenging day at the Shanghai International Circuit on Sunday, the seven-time World Champion having made contact with Leclerc on Lap 1 before struggling to keep the pace of his rivals en route to a final position of P6.

However, after the race a Technical Delegate’s report stated that, when the skid wear of Hamilton’s car was checked following the Grand Prix, the rearmost skid was found to be below the minimum 9mm thickness required, meaning that the matter was referred to the stewards.

Hamilton and a team representative were subsequently required to report to the stewards and, after the hearing took place, it was announced that the Briton had been disqualified from the results of Sunday’s race.

A document released following the hearing reads: “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.”

It marks a nightmare end to the day for Ferrari, with Leclerc having also received a post-race disqualification from P5 after his car was found to be below the minimum weight required by the technical regulations.

Like Hamilton, Leclerc and a team representative were summoned to the stewards following a Technical Delegate’s report on the matter – which noted that Leclerc’s SF-25 was 1kg below the minimum weight – and it was later announced that the Monegasque had been disqualified.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was also hit with a disqualification for the same breach as Leclerc, with the Enstone outfit remaining as the only team yet to score a point so far in 2025.

The double disqualification for Ferrari means that Esteban Ocon, Kimi Antonelli, Alex Albon and Ollie Bearman – who had finished in seventh through to 10th respectively – are now promoted by two positions, while Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz also take home points by moving into the top 10, given that Gasly has also been disqualified from P11.

Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly have both been disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix after their respective Ferrari and Alpine cars were found to be underweight in post-race checks.

Leclerc finished Sunday afternoon’s race at the Shanghai International Circuit in fifth position, while Gasly just missed out on Alpine’s first point of the season by crossing the line in 11th.

However, Leclerc, Gasly and team representatives from Ferrari and Alpine were later summoned by the stewards over alleged breaches of Article 4.1 of the Technical Regulations – a section relating to car weight.

In a report from FIA F1 Technical Delegate Jo Bauer, it was revealed that Leclerc’s car weighed exactly 800kg after he returned to the pits – the minimum weight required under the aforementioned regulations.

Given that his front wing was damaged in early contact with team mate Lewis Hamilton, Leclerc’s car was re-weighed with the retrieved endplate and then an official spare front wing, increasing the overall weight to 800.5kg.

When fuel was drained from the car, though, with two litres being removed as per the draining procedure submitted by Ferrari, it dropped to a weight of 799kg – just below the minimum requirement.

Gasly’s car also came in at 800kg during its initial weight check, only for a fuel mass check to be carried out and 1.1 kg of fuel to be removed, again as per the draining procedure submitted by Alpine, meaning it subsequently registered at 799kg.

Both incidents were referred by Bauer to the stewards and, after reviewing each situation, the panel handed out disqualifications to both Leclerc and Gasly – taking away their race results.

However, there was a further twist to come for Leclerc’s Ferrari team mate Lewis Hamilton, who was also disqualified after the rear skid block on his car was found to be under the minimum thickness required.

The double disqualification for Ferrari means that Esteban Ocon, Kimi Antonelli, Alex Albon and Ollie Bearman – who had finished in seventh through to 10th respectively – are now promoted by two positions, while Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz also take home points by moving into the top 10, given that Gasly has also been disqualified from P11.