Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s Chinese Grand Prix disqualifications highlight Ferrari’s ‘anxiety’ over key issue

Ferrari recorded the first double disqualification in the Scuderia’s history at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton stripped of their results.

The Monegasque and Briton had achieved fifth and sixth place respectively after 56 laps last Sunday at the Shanghai International Circuit. Yet post-race scrutineering found that Leclerc’s SF-25 was 1kg under the 800kg minimum weight, whilst Hamilton had excessive plank wear.

The thickness of the plank on Hamilton’s floor measured at 8.6mm, 8.6mm and 8.5mm over the three points that the FIA checks when each must be at least 9mm. It meant both Ferrari drivers were excluded from the standings with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly for his underweight car.

Ferrari’s double DSQ at the Chinese GP highlighted their ‘performance anxiety’

Leclerc losing a front wing end plate in contact with Hamilton on the first lap of the Chinese GP did not cause his car to be underweight as Ferrari could replace it with a new one before being weighed. Instead, the race being a one-stopper caused more tyre wear than expected.

Ferrari miscalculated Hamilton’s ride height in China, too, which ensured the 40-year-old ran lower to the ground than first planned. Yet reports by Corriere della Sera say Ferrari’s double DSQ at the Chinese GP also highlighted the team’s ‘performance anxiety’ with their SF-25.

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Pre-season testing in Bahrain proved to the Scuderia their 2025 car was more complex than they had hoped after Ferrari redesigned their front suspension for the SF-25 to try to widen its operating window. The first two races have only further hammered home their issue, too.

The Chinese Grand Prix particularly showed Ferrari are only the fourth-best team in normal conditions given heavy wind and rain affected the Australian Grand Prix. Shanghai offered a settled setting to test the SF-25 over a full Grand Prix yet its lack of performance persisted.

Ferrari face a juggling act risking excessive floor wear after changing their suspension

The Chinese Grand Prix weekend looked likely to bring Ferrari some joy after a difficult start in Australia as Hamilton won the F1 Sprint in Shanghai last Saturday. But changes to his set-up for the main race ensured the Briton regressed after scoring pole position for the Sprint.

How Hamilton struggled to be close to the likes of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris plus Mercedes’ George Russell during the Chinese GP with his fully in-tact car before letting Leclerc through will indeed raise alarm bells at Maranello that the SF-25 is not good enough.

The Scuderia’s performance anxiety will only build at the Japanese Grand Prix if Leclerc and Hamilton are again unable to challenge in normal conditions. Ferrari’s new suspension was meant to help them improve yet is forcing them to run lower to the ground to find lap time.