Lewis Hamilton has been disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix along with Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc after both cars failed post-race technical checks.
Hamilton’s car was found to have excessive plank wear when it was measured after the race, which was won by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. Leclerc’s car was found to be underweight, as was the car belonging to Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. All three were disqualified.
Earlier, Piastri led Norris home in a McLaren one-two at what was, until the post-race drama, a largely uneventful Chinese Grand Prix.
Australian Piastri got away well from pole and never looked in danger of losing the lead on a warm day in Shanghai in which tyre degradation appeared to be the biggest threat.
Norris, who started third, managed to jump Mercedes’s George Russell at the start and again after the first round of pit stops. The championship leader also had to manage a late brake-wear issue, which he described as “scary”.
It had already been a difficult day for Ferrari before the disqualifications. Leclerc broke his front wing in an early tussle with Hamilton but was still able to pass the seven-time world champion on track, as the Scuderia took fifth and sixth respectively.
With regard to the decision on Hamilton, a statement from the FIA read: “The plank assembly of Car 44 was measured and found to be 8.6mm (LHS), 8.6mm (car centerline) and 8.5mm (RHS). This is below the minimum thickness of 9mm specified under Article 3.5.9 of the Technical Regulations.
“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.”
