Lewis Hamilton is testing in Barcelona this week as Ferrari give their new seven-time champion racer as a lot time as doable to organize for the beginning of the brand new Method 1 season
Picture: Getty Pictures)
Lewis Hamilton has crashed his Ferrari throughout his Barcelona check along with his new crew.
The seven-time champion misplaced management of his automotive whereas driving across the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Wednesday. He’s driving as a part of a testing session which Ferrari has organised to assist get the Brit up to the mark earlier than his debut race with the crew.
However issues went unsuitable on Wednesday, it’s understood. At round 11am native time Hamilton misplaced management of the automotive and buried it right into a barrier whereas navigating the ultimate sector of the circuit.
Hamilton was unhurt within the incident and is alleged to have exited the cockpit of the automotive beneath his personal energy. However “important harm” was apparently performed to the SF-23 he was driving, Ferrari’s challenger from the 2023 Method 1 season.
The crash has triggered loads of disruption to the Italian crew’s plans. F1 groups are strictly restricted by way of the quantity of Testing Earlier Vehicles (TPC) operating they’re allowed to hold out, with simply 4 days per yr permitted. Ferrari are utilizing all of their this month to assist Hamilton acclimatise to his new environment.
The crash meant Hamilton bought rather a lot much less time behind the wheel than he would have preferred on his third time out of 4. It has additionally confirmed disruptive for his team-mate Charles Leclerc, who can be collaborating within the testing classes and noticed his schedule delayed on account of the harm performed to the automotive.
Hamilton is ready to get again on observe on Thursday for the final day of the three for which Ferrari have booked out the Montmelo observe. By the top of that day he may have reached the restrict of TPC testing he’s allowed to do, as these three days comply with the one check Hamilton accomplished on the crew’s Fiorano check observe final week.
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Teething issues in pre-season testing for a brand new crew usually are not a brand new expertise for Hamilton. Ferrari shall be solely his third ever crew in F1 and he has suffered an accident whereas making ready for a brand new life with every of his earlier two.
After becoming a member of Mercedes, he suffered a brake failure in a pre-season check. However that was nowhere close to as dramatic as when, forward of his rookie season with McLaren, in 2007, Hamilton suffered a high-speed crash at round 185mph right into a tyre barrier.
The automotive suffered in depth harm, which means McLaren needed to proceed their testing with solely one in all their vehicles accessible. Talking of his incident on the time, Hamilton mentioned: “Sadly with this sport this stuff occur. I’m fully superb and was aware all through.”
