Lewis Hamilton lost control of his Ferrari during the final practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix, bringing out a red flag and halting the session temporarily.
The seven-time world champion’s car snapped away after its tires stopped rotating, sending him sliding into the barriers at the final corner. Hamilton was able to reverse and then attempted to drive the damaged Ferrari back to the pits, despite his team instructing him to stop.
Over the radio, the team told him: “Stop the car. Stop in the safest place.” Hamilton replied: “If I can get back I will, and if I can’t I’ll do it safely.”
The British driver eventually stopped after the front wing became stuck under the car, which also suffered a puncture to its front-right tire. He then returned to the pit lane on a small motorcycle.
The incident caused the session to be red-flagged while barriers were repaired, with about 15 minutes remaining. Hamilton was fourth fastest at the time of the crash, while his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets.
Qualifying later in the day takes on added importance ahead of Sunday’s race, given the difficulty of overtaking on the new circuit and its close walls. Mercedes driver George Russell had said the track offers less margin for error compared to Monaco, even though speeds are higher.