Ferrari explain misjudgement causing Lewis Hamilton DSQ at F1 Chinese GP
Ferrari respond after Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc DSQs at F1 Chinese Grand Prix
Ferrari have issued a statement to explain the error which resulted in Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification from the F1 Chinese Grand Prix.
A disastrous day for Ferrari saw both of their drivers, Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, given DSQs after the race at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Leclerc was fifth before his car was discovered to be underweight. Hamilton was sixth, but had excessive plank wear.
Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc DSQ'd at F1 Chinese GP
A Ferrari statement read: “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 1 kg and car 44’s rearward skid wear was found to be 0.5mm below the limit.
“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’ 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.
“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.”
Ferrari have slipped behind Williams, to fifth in the constructors’ championship as a result of their point-less Chinese Grand Prix. They trail leaders McLaren by 61 points.
Hamilton is ninth, and Leclerc 10th, in the drivers’ standings after losing their points in China.
Ferrari’s race started dubiously when Hamilton and Leclerc made contact with each other.
The front wing of Leclerc’s car was destroyed although it didn’t hugely impact his pace.
Hamilton’s lack of pace was more puzzling for Ferrari. Team principal Fred Vasseur vowed not to point fingers.
Only 24 hours earlier, Hamilton won the sprint race in China to register his first glory in Ferrari red.
But he left on Sunday without the points haul that he originally thought he’d claimed.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
