Lewis Hamilton crashes Ferrari in private Barcelona testing
Lewis Hamilton crashed on his third day of running for new team Ferrari. The seven-time world champion, whose unveiling outside the factory in Maranello last week triggered a 'frenzy' in Italy, was able to walk away unhurt after hitting the barriers at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Hamilton was driving a modified version of the team's 2023 car, the SF23, under the sport's Testing Previous Cars (TPC) rules. Ferrari's TPC team are being run by former driver and deputy team principal Jerome D'Ambrosio, plus the Scuderia's new technical director Loic Serra. Both men were recruited from Hamilton's previous team Mercedes.
Hamilton, 40, had completed a short 90 kilometre outing in Fiorano last week in cold, damp conditions, although he was given a warm reception by the thousands of Tifosi who made the effort to support their new driver. The team decided to travel to Barcelona this week to take advantage of better weather in Spain.
Hamilton drove on Tuesday afternoon after team-mate Charles Leclerc took the morning session. Ferrari then switched the running order on Wednesday, with the Briton going out first.
Ferrari said their new driver was still building familiarity with the car before his crash, which occurred at around 11am local time, playing down the incident as minor. However, the damage to the car's suspension and aerodynamic bodywork pieces is understood to have been sufficient to cause a delay to Leclerc's session while the team carried out repairs.
Official pre-season testing takes place in Bahrain from February 26-28, which will be the first opportunity for teams to try out their new challengers. Until then teams can only use modified versions of old cars. Ferrari will return to Barcelona next week, for instance, on February 4 and 5, to take part in a Pirelli 2026 tyre test alongside McLaren. It remains unclear who will be driving the car and when, but Hamilton is expected to get more mileage in a modified 2024-spec Ferrari. The programme will be dictated by Pirelli.
The 2025 season begins in Melbourne on March 16.
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