Charles Leclerc, a driver for Ferrari, and Pierre Gasly, a driver for Alpine, both were disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix this past weekend. After some routine post-race checkups on the cars, both were found underweight and in violation of the FIA regulations. Leclerc had finished the race in fifth, awarding him ten points, and Gasly finished just under the points in 11th. Both cars weighed 800kg after the race but went just under the minimum regulated weight at 799kg after fuel was drained, earning them the unfortunate disqualification.
Not only did Ferrari lose one driver to disqualification, they lost both when Lewis Hamilton's skid block on his car was found to be under regulation after his sixth place finish in Sunday's race. After Hamilton's historical win for Ferrari in the Sprint on Saturday, the team did not gain any more points the following day. Both Leclerc and Hamilton reported they had difficulty navigating the Shanghai Circut on Sunday, having a hard time managing pace and tire grip. Over the weekend the team would have acumulated 30 points, but with the disqualifications they earned 12, putting them in fifth in the season standings with 17 total points over the two race weekends.
In lighter news, Oscar Piastri in McLaren won his second F1 race this past weekend after having a dissapointing Australia result the previous week. Piastri qualified first on Saturday, his firsit in his career, and managed the pace well enough to turn it into a much deserved win. With Piastri in first and Lando Norris, the other McLaren driver, placing second, the McLaren tem secured their 50th race 1-2.
After all the dramatics at the Shanghai International Circut, the Driver Standings end with Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, and George Russell in the top three. For the Constructors, or Team Standings, the positions do not change, but points are increased. Currently McLaren has 78 points, Mercedes has 57, and Red Bull Racing has 36 points on the board. The Chinese Grand Prix is only the second race of the 24-race season, so there is still much more action and drama to come.