Ferrari suffered a double disqualification in the Chinese Grand Prix for two separate breaches of the technical regulations.
Charles Leclerc was thrown out because his car was 1kg under the 800kg minimum weight limit when his car was weighed after the race with all the fuel drained, even with the FIA fitting a spare front wing after his was damaged in the race.
Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the Chinese GP because of excessive skid wear, with the skid blocks being 0.5mm under the 9mm minimum. The infractions cost Ferrari 18 points and means they now trail Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship after the first two races of the season.
There was a lot of hype around Ferrari at the start of the season, particularly as Hamilton joined the team and is hunting for his eighth world title with the famous Maranello-based squad.
Discussing their start to the 2025 season on the Formel Schmidt podcast, journalist Michael Schmidt reveals what Ferrari told him that confirms they have made a step back compared to last year’s car.
- READ MORE: Every time Lewis Hamilton has been disqualified from a Formula 1 race after 2025 Chinese Grand Prix exclusion
2025 Ferrari must be driven ‘extremely low’ to gain performance
Ferrari made an important change to their suspension for the SF-25, in a bid to open up development opportunities and close in on McLaren after losing out in the Constructors’ Championship.
The resulting effect is that the car must now be run lower than they did in 2024, which is why they fell foul of the rules in China according to Schmidt.
“In Melbourne they had raised the car after fears they would come into conflict with the plank. They have admitted to me now that it was a calculation error, which means they’re at the limit with the ground clearance,” said Schmidt.
“Last year Ferrari was a very good-natured car that worked with a bit higher ground clearance. Apparently that’s no longer the case this year, you have to drive this Ferrari extremely low, that’s how it looks after two races to keep up with the competition.”
Ferrari leaves China with questions over its SF-25
Fans of Ferrari were no doubt disappointed after the news broke that they had been disqualified from the race.
It came after a great start to the weekend for Hamilton, in which he earned pole for the Sprint race and converted it into his first win for Ferrari on the Saturday after fending off Max Verstappen.
Ferrari leaves China with questions over the ability of the SF-25 to compete with McLaren, given they felt it was potentially in the run for a win.
The team was stronger than previously thought at Melbourne, but a series of operational and strategy errors ultimately led to a disappointing race. They will want to use Japan to bounce back, after a tough start to their 2025 campaign.
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