Lewis Hamilton hit the barriers during his second day of Ferrari testing on Wednesday. Hamilton was unharmed in the incident, but it has clearly compromised his preparations for his debut.
Ferrari have tried to play down Hamilton’s crash through the media. They say he was exploring the limits of his new car, and stress that accidents in these circumstances are common.
Indeed, Hamilton was given licence to push in Barcelona after a relatively sedate outing at Fiorano last week. He was driving the SF-23 from a couple of years ago.
The impact apparently caused significant damage to the front suspension and some aerodynamic parts. It required multiple hours of repairs.
Hamilton was sharing testing duties with his new teammate Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque was due to run in the afternoon, but these plans were affected.
Kimi Raikkonen was the last Ferrari signing to crash in testing, back in 2014. He went on to struggle alongside Fernando Alonso.
Lewis Hamilton may not have been fully to blame for Ferrari crash
Hamilton’s crash came at some point during the final sector of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The layout has recently been changed, with the final chicane scrapped in favour of a high-speed double right turn.
According to a report from AutoRacer, the accident was ‘probably caused by a bump in the circuit’. It may have unsettled the car.
If so, Hamilton wouldn’t be fully to blame. That may be reassuring, but the outcome is the same for the seven-time world champion and the Ferrari mechanics.
He also crashed during his first Mercedes test at Jerez back in 2013. That incident was caused by a brake failure, rather than driver error.
Damon Hill pokes fun at Lewis Hamilton after Barcelona shunt
Even before his rookie year back in 2007, Hamilton found the wall in dramatic fashion. He lost control of his McLaren on the Valencia pit straight and spun before a 185mph impact.
1996 world champion Damon Hill teased Hamilton on social media after Wednesday’s news. He dubbed him ‘a crashing bore’ given his history of testing mishaps.
The 40-year-old will be back in action at the same track next week for a Pirelli tyre test, driving a modified version of the 2024 car. He’ll then return to Fiorano for a 2025 shakedown on 19 February.
The crash won’t dent the excitement around his arrival. Indeed, Christian Horner called Hamilton’s Ferrari move ‘box office’ – quite the compliment given his long-term rivalry with Red Bull.
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