- Jerez test
Hamilton suffers accident on first day in Jerez
Lewis Hamilton suffered a heavy accident on the first day of testing in Jerez after a failure on his car pitched him into the tyre barrier at Turn One. The accident brought an end to his running due to a lack of spare parts for the new W05.
Hamilton had completed the most laps of anyone in the morning, with 18 in total, but left the circuit at around 12:45 CET, hitting the tyre barrier head on. Two long skid marks were left in the braking zone and it appeared as though the front wing failed on the way down to turn one.
We can confirm a front wing failure on car 44. The reason is now being investigated. Lewis is fine, thank you all for asking!
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) January 28, 2014Hamilton had just set his best time of the day with a 1:27.820, but his team has a lot of work to do with a damaged nose and suspension on the all-new Mercedes W05. Up until that point Mercedes had been having the most promising start to the day with Jean-Eric Vergne the only other driver with a lap count in double figures, on 11. His best time was a 1:36.530.
The Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen caused a red flag on its first lap out of the pits but returned to the track to complete two more installation lap without setting a time. Esetban Gutierrez also completed a couple of laps in the Sauber while Sergio Perez managed just one for Force India.
Red Bull unveiled its RB10 to the media in the morning but the car then returned to the garage as the team continued to work on an unspecified problem that had occurred overnight. Caterham had been hoping to launch its car in the morning but had to postpone the unveil and did not make it out on track by 13:00.
The McLaren and Williams did not break cover in the morning either. Marussia's trucks are at the test but the car is currently in transit after a last-minute issue at the factory ahead of the test.
Times at 13:00 CET
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:27.820, 18 laps
Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso, 1:36.530, 11 laps
Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, No time, 3 laps
Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber, No time, 2 laps
Sergio Perez, Force India, No time, 1 lap
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