Charles Leclerc would move to explain what he meant after referring to the Mercedes W16 as a “dragster” at the Chinese GP.

And in doing so, the Ferrari driver estimated that rivals Mercedes were putting half a second on them in just three corners as this strength came to light.

Mercedes W16: An expert ‘dragster’?

While Ferrari tasted victory on Saturday in Shanghai as Lewis Hamilton led from lights to flag to win the Sprint, Grand Prix Sunday proved a tougher outing for Ferrari, who had no answer for the pace of McLaren or Mercedes’ George Russell, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen also made his way through.

And during the race, with Russell up ahead, Leclerc took to team radio to call the Mercedes W16 a “dragster out of Turn 12.”

He added: “Unbelievable. The traction they have there is unbelievable.”

The Turn 11/12 and 13 sequence of corners sets drivers up for the long back straight at the Shanghai International Circuit.

And when asked to explain his “dragster” comment by Sky F1, Leclerc replied: “What I meant by dragster was they had a very, very good traction after Turn 12.

“I think we were stronger for most of the lap, but getting to Turn 11 and 12, they were so fast.

“I don’t know how much faster they are, probably like five tenths over three corners, and so that’s enough for them to go away, and then very difficult for me to make an overtake into Turn 14.”

Latest F1 2025 head-to-head standings after Chinese GP

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Leclerc would ultimately cross the line P5 with team-mate Lewis Hamilton sixth, but disaster struck for Ferrari after both cars were disqualified following post-race checks from the FIA, Leclerc’s SF-25 found to be underweight while Hamilton’s had excessive plank wear.

In a statement acknowledging their double disqualification, Ferrari said: “Following the FIA post-race scrutineering both our cars were found not to conform to the regulations for different reasons.

“Car 16 [Leclerc] was found to be underweight by 1 kg and car 44’s [Hamilton’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.”

It means Ferrari sit P5 in the early Constructors’ standings, already 61 points behind leaders and defending champions McLaren.

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