Charles Leclerc’s disqualification at the Chinese Grand Prix, explained

Charles Leclerc performed admirably at the Chinese Grand Prix, finishing fifth. This despite suffering damage to his front wing on the opening lap of the race, which saw the front endplate next to his left tire knocked completely off. The team told him the loss of the end plate was worth a loss of 30 points of aerodynamics, roughly equivalent to 0.30 seconds per lap.

Still, Leclerc held his own on the track with that loss, battling with Max Verstappen and showing tremendous pace even with the aerodynamic loss.

But it was all for naught.

Following the race Formula 1 Technical Delegates conducted their customary post-race inspections, which included weighing all cars. Leclerc’s SF-25 — Car No. 16 — was found to be one kilogram below the minimum weight required under the F1 Technical Regulations:

As you can see, Pierre Gasly’s A525 also failed this inspection, and he too was referred for a hearing.

The matter was referred to race stewards for a hearing, which was conducted at 6:28 p.m. local time and attended by Leclerc itself. At the hearing, it was outlined that Leclerc’s SF-25 weighed “799 kg after the customary draining of fuel and the replacement of a broken front wing,” one kilogram below the 800 kg requirement.

Leclerc did not challenge the measurement, nor the process for weighing the car. The driver conceded that it was a “genuine error” by the team and that there were no mitigating factors:

As noted in the decision, the penalty for a violation of Article 4.1 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations is disqualification. As noted in the decision they replaced Leclerc’s front wing, so the damage he suffered on the opening lap is not a reason for the failure to make weight.

The penalty mirrors what happened to George Russell at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix. On that day Russell was one of the few drivers to execute a one-stop strategy, lasting 34 laps on a set of hard tires to close out the race and take the checkered flag in P1.

However, Russell failed a post-race inspection for failing to meet the minimum weight, and he was disqualified. Following the race many pointed to the one-stop strategy — and the excessive wear on Russell’s hard tires — as the reason for failing to make weight.

Ferrari, in a brief statement, noted the one-stop strategy as the reason behind Leclerc’s disqualification:

This disqualification, along with the DQ suffered by Lewis Hamilton, erases what was a double-points afternoon for Ferrari at the Chinese Grand Prix.