Lewis Hamilton Gives Ferrari Reality Check After Double Disqualification in China

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton has spoken out about Ferrari's double disqualification from the Chinese Grand Prix.

After Hamilton's Ferrari suffered excessive wear on the bottom plank and his teammate Charles Leclerc's car was below the required weight, the legendary Italian team departed China without any points from the race.

The team missed out on a P5 and P6 finish, which was already below expectations for a team that had the most hype before the season.

In the aftermath of the Chinese Grand Prix, Lewis has come into the Japanese Grand Prix with a reality check for the team.

Jumping back in 🪑 pic.twitter.com/Zr9jZ7IXGd
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 3, 2025

“I think there was a lot of hype obviously, to start the season,” he said.

“I think what’s important to remember is that this is my first year with the team. I’ve come to a team I didn’t expect to win from the get-go, and I didn’t expect us to be fighting for the championship straight away."

“I’ve just really tried to spend this time observing how the team operates and how we’re running and learn as fast and as much as I can. And I’ve just been highlighting to the guys that my first time driving in the rain was the first race [in Australia] on the Sunday."

“And then I didn’t actually get to do any… I was reflecting after the last two races, I didn’t get to do the Abu Dhabi test, because I was obviously still with Mercedes. All the other drivers got to test those tyres, the 2025 tyres."

“And then when I came to do my Bahrain test and do my long run, I didn’t even get to do it because we broke down. So my first long run in the dry, 20 laps, was actually the sprint race, which I’m quite happy with, how I treated those tyres.

“And then the next day, we made some changes to the car, and it wasn’t the right direction, and made it difficult through qualifying and then particularly in the race. “But lots and lots of learnings to take from those two weeks, and I feel this really helped prepare us better for moving forwards.”

Looking sharp @LewisHamilton 😎 pic.twitter.com/54ZlGQlXbQ
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 3, 2025

Ferrari have not had the fastest car over the course of a race weekend, typically having the third or fourth fastest car.

Hamilton was able to come to grips with the track early in the Chinese Grand Prix, leading to a sprint race win, but struggled once everyone settled into the track.

Ferrari sit fifth in the Constructors standings, and will look to make up ground at the Japanese Grand Prix.