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EXPLAINED: Why Hamilton, Leclerc and Gasly were all disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix – and the fine margins involved
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Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly all faced disqualifications after Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix. But which rules did their cars break? What were the key details? And how did the two teams react to the news?
Let’s start with Leclerc and Gasly…
Leclerc and Gasly finished the Grand Prix in P5 and P11 respectively, but shortly after the chequered flag had dropped, they were simultaneously noted for alleged breaches of Article 4.1 of the Technical Regulations.
READ MORE: Leclerc and Gasly disqualified from Chinese Grand Prix over car weight breaches
In a report from FIA F1 Technical Delegate Jo Bauer, it was revealed that Leclerc’s car weighed precisely 800kg – the minimum weight required – when he returned it to the pits post-race.
Given that his front wing was damaged in early contact with team mate Hamilton, Leclerc’s car was re-weighed with the retrieved endplate and then an official spare front wing, increasing the overall weight to 800.5kg.
Leclerc had achieved a top-five result in China before being disqualified
However, when fuel was drained from the car, with two litres being removed as per the draining procedure submitted by Ferrari, it dropped to a weight of 799kg – putting it just below the minimum requirement.
Gasly’s car also weighed 800kg at the finish, before a fuel mass check was carried out and 1.1 kg of fuel was removed, again as per the draining procedure submitted by Alpine, meaning it then came in at 799kg.
Both incidents were subsequently referred by Bauer to the stewards for their consideration.
What exactly is Article 4.1?
Put simply, Article 4.1 of the Technical Regulations relates to the minimum weight of an F1 car.
“The mass of the car, without fuel, must not be less than 800kg plus the Heat Hazard Mass Increase (defined in Article 4.7), at any time during the competition,” reads the rulebook.
Gasly finished in 11th before his own race result was stripped by the stewards
“If, when required for checking, a car is not already fitted with dry-weather tyres, its mass will be determined using a set of dry-weather tyres selected by the FIA Technical Delegate.”
This rule does not apply throughout Free Practice and at any point before Qualifying, as cars are only weighed after competitive sessions.
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We only need to go back to last year’s Belgian Grand Prix for an example of a driver and team breaching this rule, thanks to George Russell’s Mercedes coming in underweight and thus being stripped of victory.
The stewards noted that “there was no challenge” from either Ferrari or Alpine regarding “the FIA’s measurements, which are taken to be correct, and that all required procedures were performed correctly”.
The panel’s decision documents continued: “There are no mitigating circumstances and the team confirmed that it was a genuine error by them.
There was also trouble for Hamilton after he took sixth in the sister Ferrari
“The stewards determine that Article 4.1 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations has been breached and therefore the standard penalty of a disqualification needs to be applied for such an infringement.”
What about Hamilton’s car?
News of an alleged breach involving Hamilton’s sixth-placed Ferrari came shortly after the investigations into Leclerc and Gasly’s cars began – and this was for a different violation.
Indeed, when skid wear on his car was checked, in accordance with the Technical Directive TD039, the plank assembly was found to be marginally below the required thickness.
Measurements were taken along the stiffness compliant area at three different points of the periphery (the inner arc), with the recorded measurements being 8.6 mm on the left-hand side, 8.6 mm at the car’s centreline and 8.5 mm on the right-hand side.
Given that this was less than the minimum thickness required by Article 3.5.9 e) of the Technical Regulations, the matter was also referred by Bauer to the stewards.
Race Highlights: 2025 Chinese Grand Prix
What’s covered under Article 3.5.9 e)?
As touched on above, Article 3.5.9 e) of the Technical Regulations looks after the plank assembly area on an F1 car.
“The thickness of the plank assembly measured normal to the lower surface must be 10mm ± 0.2mm and must be uniform when new,” the article reads.
“A minimum thickness of 9mm will be accepted due to wear, and conformity to this provision will be checked at the peripheries of the designated holes.”
As per Leclerc and Gasly, the stewards’ decision on Hamilton’s car noted: “During the hearing the team representative confirmed that the measurement is correct and that all required procedures were performed correctly.
“The team also acknowledged that there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was a genuine error by the team.
Several drivers benefitted from the disqualifications, including Haas’ Esteban Ocon, who jumped to P5
“The stewards determine that Article 3.5.9 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations has been breached and therefore the standard penalty of a disqualification needs to be applied for such an infringement.”
How did the teams react?
Alpine later touched on Gasly’s disqualification in their post-race press release, without going into detail, and posted on social media to say “we accept the decision and move on to Japan”.
Ferrari, meanwhile, released a dedicated statement stressing “there was no intention to gain any advantage” in either situation and vowing that “we will learn from what happened”.
The Italian outfit believe excessive tyre wear was to blame for Leclerc’s car being underweight, while a simple “misjudgement” from the team caused Hamilton’s disqualification.
“Following the FIA post-race scrutineering both our cars were found not to conform to the regulations for different reasons,” read their statement.
“Car 16 [Leclerc] was found to be underweight by 1kg and car 44’s [Hamilton] rearward skid wear was found to be 0.5mm below the limit.
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“Charles was on a one-stop strategy today and this meant his tyre wear was very high, causing the car to be underweight.
“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.”
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