Alexandre
The Scuderia Ferrari had a particularly difficult Chinese Grand Prix. While Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton had provisionally taken 5th and 6th places under the chequered flag, the two SF-25s were eventually excluded from the final standings for separate technical reasons, costing the Italian team precious points in the Formula 1.
A weighty problem for Charles Leclerc
For Charles Leclerc, all seemed well until the finish: his Ferrari SF-25 was first weighed at 800 kilos, then at 800.5 kilos with an undamaged front wing. However, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) requires single-seaters to be able to supply at least two liters of fuel (around 1.1 kilos) for post-race analysis. Once these two liters have been removed, the Ferrari dropped to 799.4 kilos, i.e. below the regulatory limit of 800 kilos. The Monegasque, who took 5th place and ten precious points, now finds himself disqualified for "non-compliant weight".
Lewis Hamilton's flat bottom is off-limits
The second SF-25 driven by Lewis Hamilton suffered a different, but equally costly, fate. The stewards detected excessive wear on the skid (the board under the chassis), whose minimum thickness must be 9 mm according to article 3.5.9 of the FIA Technical Regulations. Measurements carried out on the car revealed values of 8.6 and 8.5 mm, below the authorized threshold. In accordance with the rule, the seven-time world champion was also disqualified from the 6th place he occupied at the end of the event.
Weekend to forget for Ferrari, despite Sprint points
In addition to the exclusion of his two single-seaters from the final standings, Ferrari thus saw the 10 and 8 points it should have gained from 5th and 6th place go up in smoke. Fortunately for the Scuderia, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton retained 4 and 8 points respectively from Saturday's Sprint Race. A small consolation prize for a team with big ambitions in Shanghai. The team left the Chinese Grand Prix with 12 points, and a total of 17 points in the Constructors' Championship. A far cry from previous years...
