Ferrari’s historic double disqualification in the recent Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix has raised eyebrows and questions alike. The Italian team, a seasoned player in the sport, accepted the blame for a poor car setup that resulted in Lewis Hamilton’s excessively worn plank. However, the responsibility for Charles Leclerc’s car being underweight was attributed to high tyre wear, a claim that has sparked intrigue and speculation.
Leclerc’s one-stop strategy that day led to his tyres wearing out significantly, resulting in his car being underweight, according to Ferrari. The team’s emphasis on tyre wear as the prime cause resonates with the circumstances surrounding George Russell’s disqualification from last year’s Belgian Grand Prix victory. Russell’s Mercedes was found underweight after an unexpected one-stop, with an additional 1.5kg missing from the minimum weight limit.
Initial accusations pointed toward the higher-than-anticipated tyre wear, amplified by the absence of a cooldown lap during the Belgian race where drivers could collect rubber marbles to increase car weight. However, Mercedes later concluded that tyre wear was just one of many contributing factors. Russell’s body weight and a worn-down plank also factored into the weight discrepancy.
So, the question arises: Is Leclerc’s predicament solely a consequence of tyre wear, or are there other factors at play?
The FIA’s measurements reveal that Leclerc’s disqualification from the Chinese Grand Prix was due to his car being one kilogramme light of the 800kg minimum weight limit, including the driver but excluding fuel. Interestingly, this weight limit has been increased from 798kg in the previous year, primarily to account for a higher minimum driver weight limit of 82kg.
Following the race, Leclerc’s car was weighed, hitting the 800kg mark. However, a damaged front wing meant the car was not in its original configuration. When reweighed with an official spare front wing, the car weighed in at 800.5kg, revealing that the spare wing was 200g heavier than the damaged one Leclerc had raced with.
Following the removal of fuel from the car, a standard procedure as the minimum weight should be fuel-free, the car was reweighed and found to be 1kg under the limit. This situation was not unique to Ferrari, as Alpine’s Pierre Gasly faced a similar predicament.
Ferrari’s claim that unexpected tyre wear was the culprit for Leclerc’s missing kilogramme implies an unanticipated loss of rubber. However, the unique circumstances of the Chinese GP turning into a one-stopper, increased tyre wear, and the introduction of a new hard tyre that was an unknown quantity still do not fully account for the missing weight.
Pirelli’s estimates suggest that a set of tyres hitting maximum wear rate can lose around a kilogramme. However, teams are mindful of this and should ideally factor this into their pre-race calculations. In China, despite some tyre wear potentially being higher than expected, the slowdown lap should have offset that.
The real answer to whether tyre wear was solely responsible for Leclerc being underweight may only become apparent after Pirelli completes a detailed analysis on his tyres, which have been sent back to their Milan headquarters.
However, it’s plausible that other factors came into play in Ferrari’s predicament. Leclerc’s plank may have been worn down like Hamilton’s, and Ferrari’s ballast choices could have also impacted the car’s weight. Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur has previously talked about the necessity of being aggressive in their choices, including car weight.
As Vasseur succinctly put it, “We have to be at the limit on every single item of the car.” This aggressive approach, while pushing the team to its maximum potential, also increases the risk of disqualification. In China, Ferrari unfortunately tipped over the edge.
