March 23, (THEWILL) – Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have been disqualified from the Chinese Formula 1 Grand Prix after their vehicles failed mandatory post-race technical inspections on Sunday. The ruling moved both competitors out of their fifth and sixth place finishes respectively.
Technical stewards found that Leclerc’s Ferrari weighed only 799 kg after fuel drainage, falling below the minimum requirement of 800 kg despite having a front wing end plate replaced following a first-lap collision. Hamilton’s Ferrari was disqualified due to the thickness of the car’s plank measuring less than the required nine millimetres.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly also received a disqualification when his vehicle registered below the minimum weight threshold. Ferrari acknowledged the violations in an official statement, noting: “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.”
The decisions significantly benefited Haas, with Esteban Ocon advancing to fifth position and rookie Oliver Bearman moving up to eighth. Additional position changes included Andrea Kimi Antonelli climbing to sixth for Mercedes, Alex Albon to seventh for Williams, Lance Stroll to ninth for Aston Martin, and Carlos Sainz claiming the final point for Williams despite finishing 13th in the actual race.
Mercedes and Ferrari both confirmed no intention to appeal the rulings. Ferrari concluded their statement with: “There was no intention to gain any advantage. We will learn from what happened today and make sure we do not make the same mistakes again.” The disqualifications are the first major technical violations of the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
