Skip to content

Lewis Hamilton crashes during Ferrari testing at Barcelona on third day of running for new F1 team

Ferrari are testing their 2023 car this week with new signing Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya; Hamilton in first weeks of adjusting to his new team and their cars ahead of pre-season testing with the 2025 challengers in Bahrain on February 26-28

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Craig Slater provides updates as Lewis Hamilton suffers a crash during Ferrari testing which has been described as 'perfectly normal' at this stage of testing.

Lewis Hamilton crashed during his third outing for Ferrari during the team's private test running in Barcelona.

Sky Sports News understands Hamilton was absolutely fine and that the incident was regarded as the kind of normal situation that can happen in such testing sessions.

The crash happened on Ferrari's second of three days of running at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the venue for the Spanish Grand Prix, with Hamilton sharing driving duties in the team's 2023 car with new team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc was due to take over the car in the afternoon but did not run after Hamilton's accident.

It was Hamilton's third day in the SF-23 overall following his eagerly-anticipated debut at Fiorano, Ferrari's own test track, last week where he completed an initial 30 laps.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Scuderia Ferrari share EXTENDED footage of Lewis Hamilton's first test drive in red - from garage to track! (Credit: Scuderia Ferrari)

The tests in two-year old cars are allowing Hamilton to acclimatise to his new team's systems, cars and working practices at the track ahead of his first season at F1's most-famous team.

The precise details of Wednesday's incident in Spain when Hamilton went off the track are not currently known, with Ferrari not providing running updates on the behind-closed-doors three-day session.

Also See:

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Take a closer look as Ferrari's driver duo of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc get set for the upcoming Formula 1 season. X/Twitter credit: @ScuderiaFerrari

Hamilton in Ferrari red - the latest pictures

Hamilton began his week in the SF-23 in Barcelona on Tuesday afternoon after Leclerc had first driven the car during the morning, with Ferrari providing fresh images of the seven-time world champion in their famous colours both on track and working with the team's engineers. (All pictures courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari).

Pic: Scuderia Ferrari
Pic: Scuderia Ferrari
Pic: Scuderia Ferrari
Pic: Scuderia Ferrari

Ferrari's January testing with Hamilton explained

Ferrari's new 2025 car is still in development ahead of its launch (February 19) and pre-season testing (February 26-28), but F1's sporting regulations allow for the Testing of Previous Cars (TPC), under certain restrictions, with teams this year able to run their challengers from 2023, 2022 or 2021 outside of race weekends and official 2025 testing.

Shop F1 gear!
Shop F1 gear!

Sign up and save 10% off your first purchase!

The Scuderia have unsurprisingly opted to complete their early January running with the most recent car allowed, the 2023 SF-23.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Fans erupt in cheers and chants as Lewis Hamilton arrives at the track for his first test session with Ferrari.

But F1's regulations only allow four of a team's total TPC days for a year (20) to be with current race drivers.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Sky Sports' Craig Slater heads to Maranello to capture the historic day that Tifosi welcomes Lewis Hamilton for his first test as a Ferrari driver.

But there will still be opportunities for the pair to get on track before Ferrari's 2025 car is launched, with Pirelli test days for 2026 tyre development in 2024 mule cars also taking place over the next month with certain teams. Hamilton is again set to feature at Barcelona in such a tyre test next week.

Watch all 24 race weekends from the 2025 Formula 1 season live on Sky Sports F1, starting with the Australian GP on March 14-16. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - No contract, cancel anytime