Ferrari's Double Disqualification: A Comedy of Errors at the Chinese GP
Stop the count! Just like a certain infamous tweet from a bygone election, Ferrari surely wished they had packed their bags and flown home early after a calamitous race weekend in Shanghai. The Scuderia experienced not just a bad day at the office, but a heaving disaster as both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were disqualified from what should have been a slick outing in the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix.
After qualifying fifth and sixth respectively, the duo faced a double whammy of DQs in a twist that would make soap operas blush. Leclerc put on a dogged display, managing to fend off an early clash with teammate Hamilton at Turn 3, only to later drive around with a broken front wing like it was some kind of twisted parade. The situation went from bad to worse as both cars were found to be below the required minimum weight limits. One kilogram under, to be exact. 800kg, my friends, is the magic number; but that was a number Ferrari would not achieve under the scrutiny of the stewards.
How did it get to this? Ferrari’s Racing Bulls (a nickname we’re testing out) blamed excessive tire wear from an ill-advised one-stop strategy. Newsflash, guys: the entire grid was expecting a two-stop race, and yet Ferrari seemed like the only team not to have done their homework. A player of their stature should know better and clearly missed the memo about the surviving elegance of the new C2 hard compound tire.
This isn’t the first time Ferrari has graced the headlines for the wrong reasons, and one wonders when they’ll get that redeeming arc we all crave. Lewis Hamilton, a brilliant strategist in his own right, should have been an easy sailor in the storm but faced his own issues with skid wear; the team changed his car's setup post-sprint qualifying, and it didn’t work out as planned. Did these adjustments push him onto too fine a knife edge? Or is it simply that the storied Italian team is having some growing pains under pressure?
For the 2025 season, where the mere margins of performance and compliance are more critical than ever, Ferrari dropped the proverbial ball in Shanghai. They may be less chaotic under team boss Frederic Vasseur, but this weekend showed that some habits die hard. With double disqualifications in the books—and both drivers left lamenting the same fate—it’s time Ferrari reevaluated their decisions before the next race.
In a world where every second counts and meticulous precision is the key to victory, Ferrari's errors were a crude reminder that in Formula 1, you either adapt or get left behind. Let's hope they decide to get their act together in time for the next battle. *After all, the only disqualification fans want to see is of the opposition from the podium!*