Red alert again at Ferrari

At the moment of the next embarrassment, the badly embarrassed Ferrari team could not hope for leniency at home either. "Disaster," "Chaos," "Red alert"—the headlines in Italy once again pierced the Scuderia's wounds the day after the double disqualification at the Formula 1 race in China.

March 24, 2025

From: dpa/sn

The proud racing team had fallen into “an abyss from which it may be difficult to get up again. At least not quickly,” judged TuttosportThe most successful team in Formula 1 history wanted to finally end its titleless era with the addition of superstar Lewis Hamilton and lead the field again.

After the botched opening race in Australia, Hamilton's surprise sprint victory in Shanghai on Saturday seemed like the long-awaited signal of a new beginning. Ferrari was hit all the harder by the setback in the Grand Prix, as Hamilton and Charles Leclerc initially finished fifth and sixth behind the leaders and were later even dropped from the results.

Ralf Schumacher calls rule violations “incompetence”

“A weekend full of promise ended in a nightmare for Ferrari,” said the British Daily Mirror Two rule violations cost the Scuderia all 18 World Championship points from the race. Hamilton's car's underbody was excessively worn, and the so-called skid blocks no longer had the required thickness of at least nine millimeters. Leclerc's company car fell one kilogram short of the minimum weight of 800 kilograms.

Lewis Hamilton's tires were too worn after the race ended. © APA/afp / GREG BAKER

This was “incompetence,” judged SkyExpert Ralf Schumacher anticipates major internal consequences. At Ferrari, "no stone will be left unturned," said the former Formula 1 driver. Hamilton, in particular, is likely to be extremely disillusioned after the first two Grand Prix races with his new employer.

Relapse into old days of chaos

On the track, Hamilton had to realize that Ferrari seems to be falling back into familiar patterns this year, and is sometimes its own worst enemy. "After the sprint, we changed the balance, and after that, the car handled terribly. I was in big trouble," said the 105-time Grand Prix winner, warning: "I hope we don't make a mistake like that again."

Ferrari team boss Frèdèric Vasseur was served. © APA/afp / SAEED KHAN

Team principal Frédéric Vasseur tried to sound optimistic. "We're probably a bit behind McLaren, but we're really on the verge of getting the best out of the car," the Frenchman assured. Under Vasseur, the team's chaotic performances had actually decreased significantly. China was a throwback to the old days.

When reporting to the race stewards, Ferrari representatives offered no excuse for the rule violations on both cars. Their own failure was too clear. "We didn't intend to gain an advantage," the team asserted shortly before leaving Shanghai. They also promised: "We will learn from what happened today and ensure these mistakes don't happen again."

Schlagwörter: Motorsport Formula 1 Ferrari