Ferrari deliver statement on Hamilton and Leclerc disqualifications

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has delivered his assessment on the reasons why Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion was disqualified for excessive wear to his skid block which was below the minimum thickness of 9mm, whilst Leclerc’s infringement was due to his SF-25 being 1kg below the minimum weight.

Ferrari released an initial statement following their drivers' disqualifications admitting to their error, and stating there was ‘no intention’ to gain an unfair advantage.

As a result of both disqualifications, Hamilton and Leclerc have dropped to P9 and P10 respectively in the drivers’ standings whilst Ferrari nestle underneath Williams with 17 points and fifth in the constructors’ championship.

Vasseur breaks silence on Ferrari disqualifications

In an interview with French publication L’Equipe, Vasseur was asked if Leclerc’s disqualification was similar to George Russell’s at the 2024 Belgian GP, which saw him stripped of his race win, but the team principal quickly rubbished the view that Leclerc's was purely a result of tyre wear.

“It's not just that. The tyres are only part of the explanation,” he said.

“We also lost a litre of water with Charles's drink tank leaking. Disqualification for weight is always an addition of lots of small factors.”

When later asked whether the issues with Hamilton’s car mirrored Leclerc’s disqualification from the 2023 United States GP, Vasseur agreed and claimed that Ferrari took their quest for ‘perfection’ too far in China.

”Exactly. We must have been too aggressive. That's how it is. This setback shows that we are in search of perfection and that, sometimes, we look too far,” he added.

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