Hamilton blames setup error for struggles in Chinese Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton said he learned a valuable lesson after going from the euphoria of a first Ferrari win in the sprint to struggling to sixth in the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday.
The seven-time world champion said he made “terrible” set-up changes after Saturday’s 19-lap dash to the chequered flag at the Shanghai International Circuit.
As a result, he was unable to match the pace of his nearest rivals, or even his teammate Charles Leclerc, over the full 56-lap main race distance.
Hamilton took a stunning pole in Friday’s sprint qualifying before going on to seal his maiden victory for the Scuderia, easily holding off McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
But on Sunday it was a different story as Piastri sped off into the distance to win the grand prix at a canter.
“Balance-wise, from the sprint race we made these changes and the car was terrible after that,” Hamilton told reporters.
“So I really struggled from then on.
“I think it’s good learning and hopefully won’t do that again as I continue to learn this car.”
Hamilton also made contact with Leclerc on the opening lap.
“Honestly it’s not Lewis’s fault at all,” Leclerc told Sky Sports F1 after he lost part of his front wing in the incident between the teammates.
Despite the damage, Leclerc was so much quicker than Hamilton in the second stint that the team ordered the Englishman to swap positions.
Leclerc was passed late on by Max Verstappen but held no hard feelings against his new teammate.
“At the end, it’s a racing incident,” said Leclerc.
“It’s a shame that it happened between the two red cars but obviously there were no bad intentions from either of us.”
Hamilton, Leclerc disqualified
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were both disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday for technical infringements, along with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
Leclerc and Gasly were found by FIA stewards to have cars that weighed less than the 800kg minimum requirement while Hamilton was deemed to have excessive plank wear underneath his car.
Leclerc had finished fifth and Hamilton sixth. Their points will be expunged with all the drivers below them now moving up two places.
Gasly finished 11th so was already out of the points.
It was a disastrous end to a weekend that had started so brilliantly for Ferrari when Hamilton took his maiden win for his new team in Saturday’s sprint.
The plank assembly is a skid plate which is designed to wear away when the floor strikes against bumps on the track or kerbs.
If it is too worn it can improve performance as cars can run closer to the track, increasing “ground effect” downforce.
“The plank assembly of Car 44 (Lewis Hamilton) was measured and found to be 8.6mm (LHS), 8.6mm (car centreline) and 8.5mm (RHS). This is below the minimum thickness of 9mm,” said the stewards’ ruling.
“The team also acknowledged that there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was a genuine error by the team.”
For Leclerc, the ruling said: “Car 16 (Charles Leclerc) was weighed by the FIA Technical Delegate inside and outside scales with both scales showing the same result of 799 kg after the customary draining of fuel and the replacement of a broken front wing.”
“The calibration of both scales was confirmed and witnessed by the competitor. During the hearing there was no challenge to the FIA’s measurements which were taken to be correct and all required procedures were performed correctly.
“There are no mitigating circumstances and the team confirmed that it was a genuine error by them.”
Hamilton, driving a Mercedes, was disqualified from the 2023 United States Grand Prix for a similar plank-wear problem.
AFP
