Ferrari F1: Fred Vasseur reveals the real and unusual reason for Charles Leclerc's disqualification

The Scuderia Ferrariwhich had been struggling at the start of the season, suffered a particularly dramatic setback at the Chinese Grand Prix. After finishing in 5th place, Charles Leclerc was disqualified from the final ranking due to a weight problema costly penalty for Ferrari in the championship race. But while the official reason was related to a lack of weight under the 800 kg regulations, A new revelation from Fred Vasseur, Ferrari's team principal, brings to light an additional and rather unusual cause for the disqualification.

Leclerc had done everything right during the race, but once on the scales, Ferrari's SF-25 came in slightly under the minimum weight requirement of 799.4 kg, after withdrawing the two liters of fuel required for post-race analysis. This missing kilo was enough to disqualify the Monegasque driver. At first glance, this might appear to be a purely mechanical infringement, but it seems there was more to it than that.

Remember the exchange between Leclerc and his race engineer at the Australian Grand Prix? It should already have aroused suspicion: "Is there a leakage? [I have a full seat of water, like, full of water! What appeared to be an amusing exchange at the time of the race turns out to be the same reason why the single-seater lost weight at the Chinese Grand Prix. Indeed, according to Fred Vasseur, it wasn't just tire wear that contributed to the disqualification, but also the loss of a liter of water due to a failure in Charles Leclerc's drinking supply.

In an interview with the newspaper L'ÉquipeCharles Leclerc's downgrading on Sunday was similar to what happened to Russell last year in Belgium," he explained. "The tires are only part of the explanation... We also lost a liter of water when Charles' drink supply leaked. Downgrading for weight is always an addition of small factors."

Ferrari being the limit of all parameters at the Chinese Grand Prix, it was this missing liter of water that played a key role in Leclerc's disqualification. A cause that might seem anecdotal, but which, combined with tire wear, cost Ferrari dearly. Frédéric Vasseur adds: "The aim of the game in F1is to go to the limit of all parameters, everywhere. To get to the last gram of weight, to get to the last tenth of a millimetre of skid, to get to the last millimetre of fin deformation. Let's hope that the water leak is finally repaired for the Japanese Grand Prix.