Ferrari’s Hamilton disqualified from Chinese GP
Lewis Hamilton has been disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix for a technical infringement on his Ferrari.
One of the skid blocks on Hamilton’s car was found to be less than the required thickness after the race.
His team-mate Charles Leclerc and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly have also been disqualified, after their cars were both deemed underweight in post-race checks.
Hamilton loses his sixth-place finish in the main grand prix, following victory in the sprint race in Shanghai on Saturday, his first win for his new team.
In a statement, the Italian team said there was “no intention to gain any advantage”.
Explaining the disqualifications, Ferrari said Leclerc’s high tyre wear due to his one-stop race strategy had caused the weight breach, while they had “misjudged the consumption by a small margin” in regard to Hamilton’s skid wear.
“We will learn from what happened today and make sure we don’t make the same mistakes again,” the statement added.
Monegasque Leclerc was fifth, while Frenchman Gasly was 11th.
Formula 1 cars have skid blocks in the floor that are meant to ensure that the car maintains a certain ride height and does not run too low.
The skids are situated in the underfloor wooden plank, which also has a minimum depth for the same reason.
If one is worn too much, it confers a potential performance advantage caused by the car being able to run lower than would otherwise have been possible.
Hamilton was disqualified from the 2023 United States Grand Prix for a similar issue when he was driving for Mercedes.
Revised Chinese GP top 10
1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
2. Lando Norris (McLaren)
3. George Russell (Mercedes)
4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
5. Esteban Ocon (Haas)
6. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
7. Alex Albon (Williams)
8. Oliver Bearman (Haas)
9. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
10. Carlos Sainz (Williams)
(BBC Sport)
The post Ferrari’s Hamilton disqualified from Chinese GP appeared first on nationnews.com.