Lewis Hamilton admits key mistake over Ferrari disqualification

Lewis Hamilton has admitted his team made a highly costly error after he was disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix for excessive wear on his skid blocks.

Hamilton had initially finished the race in sixth, which was already a disappointing result considering his sprint race victory earlier in the weekend.

The ride height of Hamilton's Ferrari after that sprint race win may have been able to provide clues to the team as to how his skid blocks would wear over a full grand prix distance, but after the main race, Hamilton revealed that the team did not lift his car enough.

His comments came before the news of his disqualification, but Hamilton revealed to Sky Sports F1: "We made other changes, but we didn't raise the car in a huge way.

"Putting all the things together it was worse, Leclerc tested some things in Bahrain that I hadn't tested and so we both went down that path which didn't go well."

Ferrari's nightmare Chinese GP

Not only was Hamilton disqualified from the race, but his team-mate Charles Leclerc was also disqualified, for a different reason.

Leclerc's car came in underweight once the race had finished, following FIA checks, and he had his fifth-place finish wiped from the record.

It meant that Ferrari's nightmare season start continued, sat down in fifth in the constructors' standings, and only Hamilton's sprint race win adding an air of respectability about their points total from the opening two events of the season.

Hamilton's comments about his ride height following the sprint race suggests that an opportunity was missed by Ferrari to ensure the seven-time champion's car was legal.

Pierre Gasly was also disqualified in the aftermath of Sunday's race due to his car also coming in underweight following routine FIA checks.

F1 HEADLINES: Red Bull statement delivered on Lawson as Vettel handed F1 boost

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

Ferrari F1 suspect Mercedes skullduggery with new engine trick

• 2 hours ago

Lewis Hamilton's F1 boss confident of FIA Ferrari decision: 'A new championship will begin'

• 2 hours ago

Lewis Hamilton wary of Ferrari decline: 'We're going to fall behind'

• Yesterday 20:51

Rattled George Russell is being schooled by rivals and his F1 title dream is already fracturing

• 1 hour ago

Lewis Hamilton reacts to Ferrari's 'terrible' Japanese Grand Prix: "I couldn't keep up"

• Yesterday 13:45

F1 News Today: Max Verstappen at breaking point as journalists demand FIA action

• Today 07:45