Charles Leclerc makes astonishing Ferrari claim after disqualification

Charles Leclerc has claimed that Ferrari could have fought McLaren for victory in the Chinese Grand Prix if not for his broken front wing before eventual disqualification.

Leclerc lost the left-front endplate of his SF-25 after first-lap contact with team-mate Lewis Hamilton in Shanghai but did not pit for a fresh nose, carrying the damage throughout a race in which he showed strong pace. It resulted in the seven-time F1 champion waving him through at one stage.

Leclerc finished fifth at the chequered flag before Ferrari replaced the broken front wing ahead of the FIA post-race checks, where his car was found to be underweight. He was promptly disqualified, along with Hamilton for a skid block below the legal minimum thickness. It was Ferrari's first double DSQ in its 75-year history. 

However, having struggled through the weekend up until the race, Leclerc felt the package had much more potential if he had a fully healthy machine.

"I made a step with the car, and there was a lot of potential but I was destroying the fronts and had 30 points less downforce, which is a huge amount," Leclerc told media, including RacingNews365, before he was disqualified.

"I honestly think we had the pace to fight with the guys in front, and when I mean the front, I mean the McLarens, Lewis showed it [in the sprint]. 

"I didn't do a good job in qualifying, but I was looking forward to the race, but unfortunately we couldn't use the full potential of the car."

Reflecting on his minor skirmish with Hamilton, Leclerc insisted it was "just a racing incident".

"I was down the inside and didn't want to overtake, I just wanted to position myself for Turn 3 and saw Lewis was defending from the outside," assessed Leclerc 

"I did not expect him to cut back. Once he cut back I was surprised and then there was not much I could do.

"But Lewis couldn't do much either because he hadn't seen me. All in all, it was just unfortunate to have the contact between our cars."