Ferrari’s Chinese Grand Prix weekend ended in nightmare fashion as both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were kicked out of the race for technical infringements
A weekend of promise turned into a nightmare for Ferrari at the Chinese Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton secured pole position for the sprint race, which he masterfully won by nearly seven seconds ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
Hamilton then qualified fifth for the main event, just ahead of Leclerc, with Ferrari eyeing a podium finish. However, their hopes were dashed as both drivers struggled. The first corner saw drama, with Leclerc damaging his front wing after colliding with the rear of Hamilton’s car.
Despite the setback, Leclerc was soon on Hamilton’s tail, with the Brit agreeing to let him pass. While the leading cars opted for a single pit stop, Hamilton took a gamble with two, which saw him fall behind Max Verstappen.
Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t catch up with the world champion, who overtook Leclerc for fourth place in the final stages. Fifth and sixth places were a letdown for Scuderia, but things went from bad to worse when both cars were disqualified.
Hamilton was kicked out after his car’s underfloor plank was found to be too thin. Meanwhile, Leclerc and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly were disqualified for being underweight. Here’s a summary of the other incidents that summed up another challenging weekend for Ferrari…
Spiky response
Hamilton showed his assertive side during a tense moment in the race when he was asked to swap positions with Leclerc. Initially, Hamilton seemed willing, but as his race engineer Riccardo Adami prompted: “Can we swap this lap now?”, Hamilton’s response was firm as he said: “I’ll tell you when we can swap.”
Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle picked up on the exchange, remarking: “That was Hamilton’s way of saying I’m in charge around here.” It wasn’t the first instance of Hamilton pushing back as he told Adami to leave him alone at the Australian Grand Prix.
The position change did happen eventually, with Leclerc’s engineer apologising for the hold-up. Post-race, team principal Frederic Vasseur addressed the situation with Viaplay, downplaying any discontent from Hamilton and highlighting that it was Lewis who initially suggested the switch.
He said: “The first call came from Lewis. He proposed to swap. You have to listen to the full story. It’s not an issue at all.”
Vasseur walks out
In a separate, more humorous incident, Vasseur couldn’t help but walk away laughing when questioned about a message from Adami to Hamilton after sprint qualifying. The message, which was either “Santiago” or “San Diego”, was understood by Hamilton, who chuckled and playfully responded by saying, “Really?”.
Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz was left hanging when he quizzed Ferrari boss about the cryptic message, receiving a breezy “Ciao, ciao” before Vasseur walked off, cutting the interview abruptly short.
Mercedes perplex Leclerc
Leclerc was taken aback by the Mercedes’ speed during the race, expressing his astonishment over the team radio: “The Mercedes is a dragster out of turn 12, unbelievable. The traction they have is unbelievable.”
Leclerc later clarified that he felt Mercedes were only quicker in certain parts of the track, including the long turn 12, which leads onto the back straight and the best overtaking opportunity on the track. Hamilton will be glad to know Leclerc still feels the Ferrari was a faster car overall, having ditched Mercedes for the Prancing Horse this season.
Leclerc refuses to blame Hamilton
A clash between teammates is a cardinal sin in F1, but Leclerc absolved Hamilton of any blame after their cars touched. Leclerc, who managed to continue despite damage to his car, described the situation as a mere racing incident.
He said: “Honestly, it’s not Lewis’s fault at all. I was around the inside trying to position the car for turn three, Lewis didn’t know I was there – I didn’t think Lewis would come back to the apex. It’s a racing incident, it’s not the first of last time it will happen. Shame it happened between the two red cars.”
Ted Kravitz later said that Vassuer will no doubt be concerned considering this is the second time Leclerc and Hamilton have made contact already this season. Karun Chandhok also insisted that Ferrari were also extremely fortunate that Hamilton managed to avoid a puncture.
Hamilton rues ‘terrible’ changes
Hamilton’s expertise in tyre management and rapid pace during the sprint race seemed promising. Yet, come Sunday, his Ferrari’s performance was unrecognisable as he laboured before his disqualification.
Teams can make minor tweaks after sprint races for the grand prix, but Hamilton voiced regret over their adjustments, saying prior to his DQ: “Balance-wise, from the sprint race we made these changes and the car was terrible after that. I really struggled with the car from then on.”
Ferrari hold hands up for double DQ
Ferrari’s double disqualification has dealt the team a significant blow. The team were clearly angry with themselves after conceding to the mishap in a statement, which read: “Charles was on a one-stop strategy today and this meant his tyre wear was very high, causing the car to be underweight.”
Regarding Hamilton’s skid block discrepancy, they admitted to a miscalculation, saying: “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.”
