After a chaotic season opener in Australia, the Chinese Grand Prix also featured its fair share of drama – with a significant amount of this occurring post-race, when it was confirmed that not one, not two, but three drivers had been disqualified from the classification.
Only moments after the news arrived that Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly had been removed from the results for car weight breaches, Lewis Hamilton was then hit with the same punishment due to the rear skid block on his SF-25 being under the minimum thickness required in the technical regulations, marking a shock double disqualification for the Scuderia.
This is not the only occasion in F1 history where a result has been taken away in dramatic circumstances, however. We’ve been taking a look back at some of those previous incidents, ranging from the loss of a home podium on debut through to wins being nullified hours – or sometimes months – after the chequered flag…
EXPLAINED: Why Hamilton, Leclerc and Gasly were all disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix – and the fine margins involved
George Russell, 2024 Belgian Grand Prix
While Hamilton faced his third career disqualification (more on which later) in Shanghai, the Briton was one of those to inadvertently benefit when his former Mercedes team mate, George Russell, was disqualified from last year’s Belgian Grand Prix.
Russell had seemingly pulled off a sensational victory at Spa-Francorchamps by nursing his tyres to the finish line on a one-stop strategy, despite being chased by Hamilton behind on fresher rubber right to the end.
While an elated Russell initially celebrated his victory, a Technical Delegate’s Report released soon afterwards confirmed that the British driver’s car had been found to be 1.5kg below the minimum weight as set out in the technical regulations during post-race checks.
After the matter was referred to the stewards, Russell was stripped of his result and the win subsequently went to Hamilton.
