Lewis Hamilton’s first day of testing ended prematurely after his Mercedes W05 ended up in the turn one barrier just before lunchtime.
The British driver had completed 14 laps and was about to start the next when his front-wing failed, causing him to spin into the barrier at high-speed.
“We can confirm a front wing failure on car 44,” said a Mercedes spokesperson. “The reason is now being investigated. Lewis is fine, thank you all for asking!”
The Mercedes suffered heavy damage to the front, ending his day far earlier than he’d hoped. Whilst the team were capable of fixing the damage, they have no spare wings and will fly a reinforced one out for Wednesday.
At the time of the incident, Hamilton was the fastest man on the circuit. However Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, Force India’s Sergio Perez and Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez had only completed installation runs.
(Image via @njuancof1)
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