Home » Sports » Motor Racing
Hamilton crashes in first Mercedes testing
Source: Agencies |
February 7, 2013, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
LEWIS Hamilton's first day of Formula One testing with Mercedes ended after 15 laps yesterday when his car suffered brake problems and ploughed into a tire wall.
The 2008 world champion was unhurt in the crash, at the Jerez circuit's Dry Sack corner made notorious in 1997 when title rivals Michael Schumacher of Germany and Canadian Jacques Villeneuve collided there in the decisive 1997 European Grand Prix.
The car's wheel tracks showed Hamilton had been a mere passenger with no response from the steering as it went off the track at the Spanish circuit.
"Lewis suffered a loss of rear brake pressure, the front brakes enabled him to slow the car but he couldn't avoid the barrier," said Mercedes.
"We have traced the problem to the hydraulic brake line connecting to the right-rear caliper," the team added on its Twitter feed.
The front left suspension and aerodynamic parts were damaged in the impact and a spokeswoman said the car would not go out again yesterday because of the time needed to repair it.
The 28-year-old Briton had been second fastest, with a best lap of one minute 19.519 seconds, when he brought out the red flags one hour and 48 minutes into the session.
Hamilton, who had completed 15 laps, is opening a new chapter in his Formula One career with Mercedes after six years with McLaren.
Mercedes has just one win, last year's Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, to its credit since buying the championship-winning Brawn GP team in 2009 and Hamilton has replaced seven-time world champion Schumacher, who retired again at the end of last season.
The British-based team had a difficult start to the first preseason test of 2013 on Tuesday when Germany's Nico Rosberg completed only 14 laps.
Problems with the car's wiring loom left Rosberg stranded on the track, with flames flaring briefly around the rear of the vehicle, before Mercedes called an early halt to proceedings.
For the second day in a row, the car was returned to the garage yesterday on the back of a flat bed truck for the mechanics to repair.
German Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull will be gunning for a fourth straight driver's crown as the F1 campaign begins on March 17 in Melbourne, Australia.
The calendar will feature 19 races until the final Grand Prix on November 24 at Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The 2008 world champion was unhurt in the crash, at the Jerez circuit's Dry Sack corner made notorious in 1997 when title rivals Michael Schumacher of Germany and Canadian Jacques Villeneuve collided there in the decisive 1997 European Grand Prix.
The car's wheel tracks showed Hamilton had been a mere passenger with no response from the steering as it went off the track at the Spanish circuit.
"Lewis suffered a loss of rear brake pressure, the front brakes enabled him to slow the car but he couldn't avoid the barrier," said Mercedes.
"We have traced the problem to the hydraulic brake line connecting to the right-rear caliper," the team added on its Twitter feed.
The front left suspension and aerodynamic parts were damaged in the impact and a spokeswoman said the car would not go out again yesterday because of the time needed to repair it.
The 28-year-old Briton had been second fastest, with a best lap of one minute 19.519 seconds, when he brought out the red flags one hour and 48 minutes into the session.
Hamilton, who had completed 15 laps, is opening a new chapter in his Formula One career with Mercedes after six years with McLaren.
Mercedes has just one win, last year's Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, to its credit since buying the championship-winning Brawn GP team in 2009 and Hamilton has replaced seven-time world champion Schumacher, who retired again at the end of last season.
The British-based team had a difficult start to the first preseason test of 2013 on Tuesday when Germany's Nico Rosberg completed only 14 laps.
Problems with the car's wiring loom left Rosberg stranded on the track, with flames flaring briefly around the rear of the vehicle, before Mercedes called an early halt to proceedings.
For the second day in a row, the car was returned to the garage yesterday on the back of a flat bed truck for the mechanics to repair.
German Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull will be gunning for a fourth straight driver's crown as the F1 campaign begins on March 17 in Melbourne, Australia.
The calendar will feature 19 races until the final Grand Prix on November 24 at Sao Paulo, Brazil.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
