Judd Trump questioned the conditions and sent a message to the tournament organisers following his Players Championship final defeat against Kyren Wilson. 

Trump told ITV: “The balls were playing a bit tricky, it wasn’t like the rest of the tournament where I was able to play free-flowing. I don’t know what the difference was today. It was very, very strange and I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that before in a tournament. It was a good tournament and I’ll look forward to the next tournament.”

Pressed on the issue of the cue balls, Trump added: “It was tricky. It was tricky for both of us. The ball was very light and it was taking off like a ping-pong ball. It was a bit strange.” 

Liam Lawson has hit back at Yuki Tsunoda after the Japanese driver fuelled speculation that he could replace the Red Bull driver.

Lawson has endured a horror start at Red Bull and some reports suggest he could even be replaced by Tsunoda after only two races.

The next race is incidentally the Japanese Grand Prix – Tsunoda’s home event. Asked if he would be willing to replace Lawson and drive alongside Max Verstappen, the Racing Bulls star said: “Yes, why not?

“[I would race for Red Bull in] Japan, yes, 100 per cent. The car [at Red Bull] is faster, I know that for sure.”

When Tsunoda’s comments were put to him, Lawson said: “He can say what he wants, to be honest. I raced against him for years in the junior categories and I beat him. And I did that in F1 as well. He can say what he wants, but it’s obviously extremely tough. It’s not something I enjoy and I’m honestly working as hard as I can.

“I don’t have time to test the car and get used to it, because we are already in the season and every race we lose points. That’s what I meant when I said I don’t have time. But I’m not stupid, I know I’m here to perform and if I don’t do that, I’m gone. I’m focused on getting used to the car as quickly as possible.

“We’re not happy and none of us are happy. I don’t know what else to say about that.”

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The Chinese Grand Prix results have been changed by the FIA after Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly were disqualified from the race.

Leclerc crossed the line in P5 after being overtaken late on by Max Verstappen, while Hamilton was placed sixth after a gamble on a two-stop strategy backfired. Gasly narrowly missed out on the points, finishing the race in P11.

However, after failing Parc Ferme assessments from the FIA’s technical delegate, Jo Bauer, all three drivers have been disqualified. Gasly and Leclerc’s cars came in 1kg underweight, while Hamilton’s plank wear exceeded the maximum allowed.

The three disqualifications came at the benefit of a number of drivers. Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz took the chequered flag in P12 and P13, respectively, but were promoted into the top 10 as a result of the infringements.

Further ahead, Kimi Antonelli, Esteban Ocon, Alex Albon and Oliver Bearman all gained positions in the order, picking up more priceless points for their constructors.