Lewis Hamilton becomes THIRD driver to be disqualified from Chinese Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has become the third driver to be disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix.

On Sunday, Hamilton endured a tough race as he finished in sixth place behind the likes of Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, George Russell, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.

After the race, it was confirmed that Leclerc and Pierre Gasly were disqualified due to having an underweight car.

Now, Hamilton has also been disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix due to excessive skid wear.

Explaining the decision, an official statement from the sport's governing body, the FIA, said: "The plank assembly of Car 44 (Lewis Hamilton) was measured and found to be 8.6mm (LHS), 8.6mm (car centerline) and 8.5mm (RHS).

"This is below the minimum thickness of 9mm specified under Article 3.5.9 of the Technical Regulations.

" During the hearing the team representative confirmed that the measurement is correct and that all required procedures were performed correctly. The team also acknowledged that there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was a genuine error by the team."

Lewis Hamilton is at risk of disqualification. Image: Getty

Hamilton enjoyed a brilliant start to the race weekend after qualifying on pole position for the sprint race, which the 40-year-old ended up winning ahead of Piastri and Verstappen.

However, on Sunday, Hamilton failed to build on his sprint victory as he struggled to find pace during the 56-lap Grand Prix.

As a result of the disqualifications, the updated Chinese Grand Prix finishing order is as follows:

P1 - Oscar Piastri

P2 - Lando Norris

P3 - George Russell

P4 - Max Verstappen

P5 - Esteban Ocon

P6 - Kimi Antonelli

P7 - Alexander Albon

P8 - Oliver Bearman

P9 - Lance Stroll

P10 - Carlos Sainz

P11 - Isack Hadjar

P12 - Liam Lawson

P13 - Jack Doohan

P14 - Gabriel Bortoleto

P15 - Nico Hulkenberg

P16 - Yuki Tsunoda

F1 will now return in two weeks' time with the Japanese Grand Prix, which will be held around the famous Suzuka Circuit on April 6.