Lewis Hamilton was dramatically disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix for running his Ferrari too close to the ground.
The decision came nearly three hours after the end of the race in a pitch black paddock.
The seven-time world champion had finished sixth in a race won by Oscar Piastri, but will now be stripped of his eight points.
Hamilton’s team-mate Charle Leclerc was also expelled from the rankings, having finished a place higher than Hamilton for driving an underweight car.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who was 11th, was also thrown out for the same reason as Leclerc.
The FIA stewards declared of Hamilton’s dismissal: ‘The stewards heard from the team representative of Car 44 (Lewis Hamilton). ‘The plank assembly of Car 44 was measured and found to be 8.6mm (LHS), 8.6mm (car centerline) and 8.5mm (RHS). This is below the minimum thickness of 9mm specified under Article 3.5.9 of the Technical Regulations.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday
The 40-year-old has endured a frustrating showing in Shanghai that saw him finish sixth
Hamilton was ultimately disqualified for running his car too low to the ground while his team-mate Charles Leclerc was also disqualified for his car being underweight
‘During the hearing the team representative confirmed that the measurement is correct and that all required procedures were performed correctly. The team also acknowledged that there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was a genuine error by the team.’
Despite an impressive showing in Saturday’s Sprint marking his first victory since his high-profile move from Mercedes, Hamilton once again struggled on Sunday.
The 40-year-old could be heard clashing with his race engineer Riccardo Adami, and had to make way to let his team-mate Charles Leclerc through en route to a disappointing finish.
Leclerc learned his fate in the paddock first, and was disqualified with stewards noting that there were ‘no mitigating circumstances’ and that Ferrari confirmed that it was a ‘genuine error’ on their behalf.
Confirmation of Gasly’s disqualification followed minutes later.
