The Chinese Grand Prix left Ferrari reeling after disqualifications for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, exposing team errors.
- Both drivers were disqualified for separate technical infringements, a blow to Ferrari’s performance credibility.
- Hamilton celebrated an initial victory in the Sprint but faced setbacks in both qualifying and the main race.
- Leclerc struggled with car issues throughout the weekend, adding to Ferrari’s woes.
- Ralf Schumacher criticized Ferrari, calling their handling of the situation ‘incompetent.’
The atmosphere was electric at the Chinese Grand Prix, but not in the way Ferrari had hoped. Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc faced disqualifications that sent shockwaves through the paddock and provided plenty of fodder for critics. These disqualifications weren’t for the same issue, highlighting an unsettling pattern of mistakes in the Ferrari garage.
Hamilton, on his second race weekend with Ferrari, showed great promise during the Sprint race by leading from start to finish. However, a different story unfolded in qualifying and the main event, where he failed to carry through the momentum. Meanwhile, for Leclerc, the weekend was a marathon of challenges. He found himself constantly fighting to keep up, dealing with downforce deficiencies during the Grand Prix, ultimately crossing the line in a humble sixth place. Both disqualification announcements post-race were more than a slap on the wrist—they were a stark reminder of the team’s current struggles.
The specifics of the disqualifications stem from technical infringements, with Leclerc’s car found to be underweight by a mere kilogram. The team’s official line was that a one-stop strategy heavily impacted tire wear, thus leading the car to shed some weight. In Hamilton’s case, Ferrari admitted to a small oversight regarding skid block wear. But the scrutiny didn’t stop there.
Ralf Schumacher openly criticized Ferrari’s management of these technical issues during an interview with Sky Deutschland. He suggested that Leclerc’s minor collision early in the race should have been anticipated to affect the car’s weight more significantly, labeling the oversight as a clear sign of incompetence. “Charles Leclerc was missing a part of the car,” Schumacher stated bluntly, calling for Ferrari to employ better predictive measures.
Schumacher didn’t pull any punches when discussing Hamilton’s part of the debacle either. He pointed out that the team should have been more vigilant about skid block wear from the sprint data. “After the sprint, you can assume that the engineer should know what he’s doing,” he remarked. The veteran driver emphasized the need for a thorough reevaluation of Ferrari’s strategies, pressing the urgency of improvement.
Ferrari’s fall to fifth in the Constructors’ Championship highlights the broader ramifications of these errors. From their vantage point, Ferrari has a steep uphill battle, not only with technical adjustments but in restoring their reputation. Ralf Schumacher’s advice for the Scuderia was succinct and grave: leave no stone unturned in their pursuit of resolving these vulnerabilities.
The Chinese Grand Prix has left Ferrari with much to ponder as it seeks to rectify costly mistakes and reclaim its standing.
