Leclerc and Hamilton disqualified from Chinese Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have been disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix after their Ferrari cars were found to have breached different technical rules.
Both the Ferraris, which had finished fifth and sixth respectively in Sunday's race, failed post-race checks carried out by FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer, as did Alpine's 11th-place finisher Pierre Gasly.
Leclerc and Gasly were found to have underweight cars, while Hamilton – who had previously won Saturday's sprint race – was punished for a technical infringement relating to excessive skid-plank wear.
All three drivers have been removed from the final classification, meaning Ferrari lose 18 points in the constructors' championship and Gasly misses the chance to move into the top 10, which he would have otherwise been in line to do, having finished just outside the points.
BREAKING: Pierre Gasly, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have been disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 23, 2025
Gasly and Leclerc's cars were found to be underweight, while Hamilton's car was deemed to have excessive skid wear#F1 #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/2YPuFk8DZL
The biggest beneficiary of Ferrari's double disqualification in Shanghai is Haas driver Esteban Ocon, who is promoted from seventh to fifth, while Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli rises from eighth to sixth.
Williams' Alex Albon and the second Haas of Oliver Bearman also move up the order to seventh and eighth respectively.
And points have now been awarded to Lance Stroll (ninth) and Carlos Sainz (10th), even though they originally finished 12th and 13th respectively in the grand prix.
McLaren dominated the race in China, with Oscar Piastri leading championship leader Lando Norris home in a one-two finish.
George Russell was third, with Max Verstappen recovering from a poor start to finish ahead of the two Ferraris in fourth.
The floor of Hamilton's car was found to have excessive rear skid-plank wear, meaning it was less than the required thickness after the race, which confers a potential performance advantage.
He was disqualified from United States Grand Prix in 2023 for a similar infringement when he was driving for Mercedes.
After the technical delegate's report, Hamilton and a team representative were asked to report to race stewards.
A document released following the hearing 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.
"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."
Revised Chinese Grand Prix Top 10
1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
2. Lando Norris (McLaren)
3. George Russell (Mercedes)
4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
5. Esteban Ocon (Haas)
6. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
7. Alex Albon (Williams)
8. Oliver Bearman (Haas)
9. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
10. Carlos Sainz (Williams)
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers
1. Lando Norris - 44
2. Max Verstappen - 36
3. George Russell – 35
Constructors
1. McLaren - 78
2. Mercedes - 57
3. Red Bull - 36