The double disqualification
After Lewis Hamilton’s Sprint victory, Ferrari’s weekend in China quickly took a turn for the worse, starting with a disappointing third-row qualification, followed by a fifth and sixth-place finish in the Chinese Grand Prix, and culminating in disaster with both drivers being disqualified after the race due to technical irregularities. It was the first time in history that both Scuderia Ferrari cars were disqualified from a Formula 1 Grand Prix, a significant blow to the prestige of the historic Maranello brand.
Ralf Schumacher’s harsh criticism
Speaking to Sky Deutschland, former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher is convinced that something will happen within the Ferrari team: “Nothing will be left unaddressed now, especially because this will have consequences, whether big or small, within the team. One thing was clear: on Saturday, they were fast; on Sunday, they were slow and got disqualified. And they were aiming to fight for the championship—this is absolutely not acceptable.” – the brother of Michael Schumacher pointed out.
The former Jordan, Williams, and Toyota driver continued: “Charles Leclerc drove the entire race with 2 to 2.5 kg less. If we assume that 10 kg is worth about three-tenths of a second, you have to calculate how much advantage there was lap after lap.” Ralf Schumacher then openly spoke of “Ferrari’s incompetence,” using Lewis Hamilton’s car as an example: “After the Sprint, you would expect the engineer to know what they are doing, as they can monitor the floor’s wear. This cannot happen.” – he concluded at the end of the Chinese Grand Prix, which was held at the 5.451-kilometre Shanghai International Circuit last Sunday.
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