Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification at the Chinese Grand Prix, explained

Lewis Hamilton's second race weekend as a Ferrari driver began with pole position and victory in the F1 sprint race at the China Grand Prix.

It ended with a disqualification at the Grand Prix itself, dropping Hamilton from the point after he finished sixth.

Following the race, the technical delegate conducted a conventional post-race inspection of the car, including measuring the thickness of the skid plate underneath Hamilton SF-25. According to a Jo Bauer report, the FIA ​​F1 technical delegate:

The most recent skids were measured according to the submission of the team's legality document according to TD039 L, item 1.2 b) i). Measurements were taken along areas that compliant with the stiffness of three different points (inner arcs) around the surrounding area. Recorded measurements were 8.6 mm (LHS), 8.6 mm (car centerline), and 8.5 mm (RHS).

I call this issue a steward for their consideration, as this is less than the minimum thickness required for TR No. 3.5.9 e).

Document 80Technical Delegate Reports can be read in full here:

An introduction to race stewards took place at China's Grand Prix, which took place at 6:48pm local time. According to the report, at a hearing in which Hamilton himself attended, the driver “confirmed that the measurements were correct and all necessary steps were carried out correctly. The team also admitted that there was no mitigation situation and was a true error by the team.”

According to race officials, the standard penalty for violations of Article 3.5.9 of the FIA ​​Formula 1 Technical Rules is disqualified.

This is the complete decision:

The disqualification reflects what happened to Hamilton at the 2023 US Grand Prix. That afternoon, he finished second at Austin Hamilton, with Charles Leclerc (his current Ferrari teammate) finishing sixth.

However, if post-race inspections revealed that the boards were not compliant with technical regulations, they were both disqualified.

Formula 1 cars have these boards, or “skid blocks,” on the car's floor, a safety element added in the wake of the tragic death of the Ayrton Senna. They serve two purposes. First, to protect the chassis from damage when the car floor touches the truck surface at high speed and secondly touches the truck surface and acts as a safety gauge. They help you measure whether your car is driving too much or too close to the surface of the truck.

Article 3.5.9 F1 Technology Regulations Manage Planck Assembly. Specifically, the section that Hamilton was found to have violated is Article 3.5.9(e) and reads as follows:

The thickness of the plate assembly measured from the bottom to the bottom must be 10mm±0.2mm and, in new cases, be uniform. A minimum thickness of 9mm is accepted due to wear and conformance to this provision is checked around the specified hole.

As you can see, the thickness of the board should be 10 mm. F1 regulations allow 1 mm to wear over the weekend due to wear and tear. More than that, and cars are deemed to be in violation of regulations.

Hamilton is now disqualified because he violates this regulation.

Ferrari issued a short statement saying the team “misjudged consumption by a small margin.”

Till, that's not enough to avoid disqualification.