A dramatic post-race investigation at the Chinese Grand Prix has resulted in the disqualification of Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and Pierre Gasly due to technical infringements.
Lewis Hamilton, who initially finished sixth for Ferrari, was found to have a skid block on his car that was less than the required thickness.
This violation of the technical regulations resulted in his disqualification.
Similarly, Charles Leclerc, also from Ferrari, who finished fifth, and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who finished 11th, were disqualified after their cars were deemed underweight during post-race checks.
The skid blocks, located in the underfloor wooden plank of Formula 1 cars, are designed to ensure a minimum ride height.
Excessive wear on these blocks can provide a performance advantage by allowing the car to run lower than regulations permit.
Ferrari, in a statement, attributed Leclerc’s disqualification to high tire wear due to his one-stop race strategy, which led to the weight breach. Regarding Hamilton, the team admitted to “misjudging the consumption by a small margin” concerning the skid wear.
“We will learn from what happened today and make sure we don’t make the same mistakes again,” Ferrari stated.
This is not the first time Hamilton has faced disqualification for a similar technical infringement. He was also disqualified from the 2023 United States Grand Prix while driving for Mercedes.
