SHANGHAI — Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly have all been disqualified from the results of the Chinese Grand Prix after technical infringements were found on their cars in post-race checks.
The three cars were subject to separate investigations, which were carried out by the stewards on Sunday evening in Shanghai.
The Ferrari of Leclerc and Alpine of Gasly were found to be underweight, while the plank on the bottom of Hamilton’s Ferrari had worn beyond the permitted limit.
According to the regulations, cars must weigh 800 kilograms after the race once their remaining fuel has been drained, and initially both the Ferrari of Leclerc and the Alpine of Gasly were found to be bang on the limit.
Once the fuel was drained from the cars, they were both found to be one kilogram under the weight limit and were therefore disqualified.
Leclerc’s car had a broken front wing after a first lap collision with Hamilton, but Ferrari was permitted to replace the wing with an intact version before it was weighed for legality.
On Hamilton’s car, the wear on the plank — a wood resin strip under the car — was found to be below the 9mm permitted by the regulations.
Plank wear is measured by the FIA to ensure cars are not running too low in the pursuit of aerodynamic performance.
“The plank assembly of Car 44 was measured and found to be 8.6mm (LHS), 8.6mm (car centerline) and 8.5mm (RHS),” the stewards explained in a statement. “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.”
Chinese GP: New top 10 after disqualifications
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Oscar Piastri, McLaren
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Lando Norris, McLaren
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George Russell, Mercedes
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Max Verstappen, Red Bull
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Esteban Ocon, Haas
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Alex Albon, Williams
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Oliver Bearman, Haas
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Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
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Carlos Sainz, Williams.
