Ferrari drivers take action at Austrian Grand Prix as team look to avoid disqualification repeat

Ferrari F1 stars Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were forced to employ certain driving tactics during Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix to avoid a potential disqualification.

After a decent showing in qualifying on Saturday, Leclerc started the race on the front row in second, with Hamilton behind in fourth. However, at no stage during the grand prix did either driver offer any sort of threat to the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

In fact, Leclerc and Hamilton finished 19 and 29 seconds behind race-winner Norris, but it appears that such a large gap is down to their drivers having to lift and coast throughout the race, according to Sky F1 reporter Ted Kravitz, so as to avoid a f

"We think they [Ferrari] are still having to lift and coast, but we don’t think the lift and coast is for fuel or brakes, it could be just to protect the skid blocks," he said during Sunday's broadcast.

"The issue Ferrari have had for the whole season, but nevertheless, they look happy with the progress."

F1 RESULTS: McLaren dominate at Austrian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen suffers nightmare

Ferrari employs tactics to avoid China GP disqualification repeat

The technique described by Kravitz refers to when a driver eases off the throttle earlier than usual when approaching a corner before lifting off it and coasting the car for a brief distance before applying the brakes.

Lifting and coasting is often used by a driver for numerous reasons, but Kravitz's theory stated that Fred Vasseur's drivers were applying the technique to protect their skid blocks.

Vasseur was not able to be present at the Austrian GP for personal reasons, but he was there to witness the most tumultuous race weekend of the Scuderia's season earlier this year in China.

Following Hamilton's first and only race win in red at the Chinese GP Sprint in March, the seven-time champion likely felt another positive result was possible during the main race.

After finishing P6 in the Chinese GP behind Leclerc in P5, both Ferrari drivers were disqualified, bringing double disaster to the Scuderia's door earlier this year.

Leclerc's Ferrari was ruled to have breached the FIA's weight regulations in Shanghai, and shortly after, it was announced that the skid wear of Hamilton's Ferrari had been checked according to the team's legality documents, with his measurements all under the minimum 9mm thickness required. Hamilton was disqualified as a result.

Elsewhere in Austria this weekend, Red Bull-backed driver Nikola Tsolov was stripped of his F3 feature race victory after his car failed to meet the minimum plank thickness requirement.

On top of this, McLaren junior Alex Dunne was also disqualified from the Austrian F2 feature race for the same issue.

On a weekend where plank thickness became a hot topic, who can blame Ferrari if they chose to use lifting and coasting as a preventative measure?

READ MORE: F1 champ Max Verstappen tipped for Red Bull exit ahead of 2026

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