Cause for Hamilton's Barcelona crash revealed
Following the incident that derailed the second day of Ferrari's 'TPC' running, it has emerged that a bump may have caused Lewis Hamilton's high-speed crash at the last corner of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Following their on-track activity at Fiorano last Wednesday, Ferrari have headed to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for this week in a bid to complete more running with the two-year-old SF-23 in slightly better weather conditions.
Charles Leclerc fulfilled driving duties on Tuesday morning, and Hamilton took over the 2023 F1 Ferrari in the afternoon. The pair was set to run in inverse order on Wednesday, but the seven-time F1 champion suffered a high-speed crash in the last segment of the Catalan track.
The incident forced the Italian outfit to call off Leclerc's afternoon running, but they carried on with their programme on Thursday with their reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi and F2 junior racer Dino Beganovic behind the wheel of the SF-23.
According to the Italian publication AutoRacer, a bump in the third sector was "probably" the cause of the incident which led to Hamilton's high-speed crash that caused significant damage to the car.
Notably, in 2023, Logan Sargeant also crashed his Williams due to heavy bumps in the final corner in the final practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix. The American lost control of his car in the final sector, suffering a snap at the last corner before sliding through the gravel and into the barriers.
Next week's programme
The Scuderia will remain in Montmelo next week to take part in the Pirelli tyre test. That running will see McLaren also join Ferrari at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya where Pirelli will try out its 2026 products.
The tyre test will mark the first time that Hamilton drives the 2024 F1 Ferrari, the SF-24 as teams are allowed to use their most actual cars during tyre testing.
The 2026-spec tyres will continue to feature 18-inch rims, but the front tyres will be 25mm narrower while the rears will be reduced by 30mm in width compared to the 2025 tyres.
