Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are at risk of disqualification from F1’s Chinese Grand Prix after both Ferrari cars failed post-race technical inspections.
Leclerc finished the Shanghai race in fifth despite a broken front wing, and despite fitting a new example for scrutineering, his Ferrari was measured at 799kg, one kilogram below the 800kg weight limit.
Meanwhile, Hamilton’s car was deemed to have excessive skid wear, the rearmost skid falling foul of the 9mm minimum mandated by the technical regulations.
The case of both Ferrari drivers is being referred to the FIA’s race stewards, with both Leclerc and Hamilton likely losing their fifth and sixth place respectively.
“After the Race, car number 16 was weighed and its weight was 800.0 kg, which is the minimum weight required by TR Article 4.1,” FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer’s report said. “As the front wing was damaged (the missing FW endplate was recovered and weighed with the car), the car was re-weighed with an official spare front wing assembly of car 16 and its weight was 800.5 kg. After this, fuel was drained out of the car and 2.0 litres of fuel were removed. The car was drained according to the draining procedure submitted by the team in their legality document.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Clive Mason/Getty Images
“The car was weighed again on the FIA scales (with the official spare front wing assembly of car 16) and the weight was 799.0 kg. The calibration of the scales was confirmed and witnessed by the competitor. For information the spare front wing was 0.2 kg heavier than the damaged one used during the race. As this is 1.0 kg below the minimum weight requested in TR Article 4.1, which also has to be respected at all times during the Competition, I am referring this matter to the Stewards for their consideration.”
A separate document detailing Hamilton’s issue stated: “The rearmost skid was measured according to the team’s legality documents submission in accordance with TD039 L, item 1.2 b) i). Measurements were taken along the stiffness compliant area at three different points of the periphery (inner arc). The recorded measurement were 8.6 mm (LHS), 8.6 mm (car centerline) and 8.5 mm (RHS). As this is less than the 9 mm minimum thickness required by TR Article 3.5.9 e), I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration.”
Pierre Gasly’s Alpine was also deemed to be one kilogram underweight, so he too is at risk of disqualification. If all three drivers are thrown out of the results, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll is set to move from 12th to ninth, while 13th-placed finisher Carlos Sainz would inherit the final point for Williams.
