- Lewis Hamilton has been disqualified from Chinese Grand Prix for a rule break
- Both he and team-mate Charles Leclerc have been sanctioned in a first for Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton was dramatically disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix for running his Ferrari too close to the ground.
The decision came nearly three hours after the end of the race in a pitch black paddock in Shanghai.
The seven-time world champion had finished sixth in a race won by Oscar Piastri, but will now be stripped of his eight points.
Hamilton’s team-mate Charles Leclerc was also expelled from the rankings – having finished a place higher than Hamilton – for driving an underweight car.
The decision marks the first time in the history of Formula One that both Ferrari drivers have been disqualified from the same race.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who was 11th, was also thrown out for the same reason as Leclerc.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix
The 40-year-old had endured a frustrating showing in Shanghai that saw him finish sixth
Hamilton was ultimately disqualified for running his car too low to the ground while his team-mate Charles Leclerc was also disqualified for his car being underweight
Leclerc learned his fate first, and was disqualified with stewards noting that there were ‘no mitigating circumstances’ and that Ferrari confirmed that it was a ‘genuine error’ on their behalf. A team statement read: ‘There was no intention to gain any advantage. We will learn from what happened and make sure we don’t make the same mistakes again.’
Confirmation of Gasly’s disqualification followed minutes later.
The FIA stewards declared of Hamilton’s dismissal: ‘The stewards heard from the team representative of Car 44 (Lewis Hamilton).
‘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.’
Despite an impressive showing in Saturday’s Sprint marking his first victory since his high-profile move from Mercedes, Hamilton once again struggled on Sunday.
The 40-year-old could be heard clashing with his race engineer Riccardo Adami, and had to make way to let his team-mate Charles Leclerc through en route to a disappointing finish.
The double DQ in the same race marks a disappointing first for Ferrari in Formula One
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was disqualified by stewards after his car was found to be underweight
Speaking immediately following the race Hamilton expressed his disappointment with the car’s performance.
‘I feel OK. I wasn’t able to get the result that I was hoping for today,’ he said.
‘I needed a good start – which I got – [and] I was trying to see if I could pounce forwards but I just didn’t have the pace of the cars up ahead.
‘And just balance-wise, from the Sprint race we made these changes and the car was terrible after that, so I really struggled with the car from then on.’
He continued: ‘I think it’s good learnings and hopefully [we] won’t do that again as I continue to learn this car. I think there’s definitely positives to take from the weekend.
‘Obviously we’re losing ground to the McLarens points-wise, McLaren and Mercedes and [Max] Verstappen, but we’ve just got to keep pushing.’
