Ferrari disqualification fear revealed ahead of Chinese GP as real reason for disastrous Australia pace emerges

The real reason behind Ferrari's disastrous Australian Grand Prix pace has been revealed - and it is unrelated to their strategy errors.

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished the Grand Prix at Albert Park in eighth and 10th respectively last Sunday.

A mistake in their strategy caused Ferrari to pit both drivers a lap too late for intermediate tyres when late-race rain fell.

The pair were told to stay out while others pitted and, while they were briefly in first and second, the error dropped them down the field and meant they were only competing for the lower points places.

But Ferrari's pace prior to that error was not where the team would have hoped it could be.

The Scuderia were fast in practice but struggled on Saturday morning, before qualifying in seventh and eighth with Leclerc and Hamilton.

In the race, Leclerc had a good start to move up to fifth, but Hamilton made no progress and was unable to overtake either Alex Albon or Yuki Tsunoda until the weather chaos.

It had been reported on Thursday that Ferrari had brought a medium-downforce front wing to Melbourne, which was expected to aid them in wet weather conditions but perhaps make them slower in dry qualifying.

However, the actual reason for the slow pace on Sunday has now been revealed - and it could have resulted in both Ferrari drivers being disqualified in a worst case scenario if the team hadn't rectified the problem.

Motorsport.com.it report that the race setup identified in the simulator was incorrect, forcing Ferrari to change it.

Each of the 10 F1 teams have a mission control base away from the track, where test and reserve drivers can test setups and car adjustments before relaying feedback to mechanics and engineers at the circuit.

The issue with the incorrect setup, it is claimed, was that the suspension ride height was too low, meaning that the car was running too close to the ground during Friday practice.

Lewis Hamilton driving the Ferrari in free practice one on Friday (Image: Twitter/Scuderia Ferrari)

Despite its strong pace, therefore, Ferrari had to fix the issue as they risked excessively wearing the skid blocks on the underfloor, which can result in a disqualification.

That reduced their aerodynamic performance and meant they struggled for pace in both qualifying and the race.

It is described as a 'serious problem' for the SF-25 due to the way that the car's aerodynamics map has been designed, though it is unclear whether the issue was a one-off or whether it could be repeated in Shanghai.

Team principal Frederic Vasseur appears not to think so, telling reporters on Wednesday: "It will be important to have prepared the weekend well in the Maranello simulator.

"As a team, we will take care of every little detail to maximise the potential of the SF-25s, supporting Charles and Lewis in the best possible way, who have always liked this track."

In 2023, Leclerc was disqualified for excessively wearing his car's skid blocks during the United States Grand Prix in Austin. The Monegasque driver had finished on the podium in third place.

Coincidentally, the Mercedes of Hamilton, who had finished in second place for his joint-best result of that season, was also disqualified for the same reason.