Hamilton's 125mph Crash Puts Skids Under Mclaren Hopes
Formula one: Lewis Hamilton emerged unhurt from a high-speed crash during practice for the Bahrain grand prix
Lewis Hamilton walked away unscathed yesterday from a high-speed accident during the second free-practice session for the Bahrain grand prix. It left his McLaren-Mercedes badly damaged and the 23-year-old under instructions to report immediately to the medical center for a check-up.
Hamilton lost control after riding too far up the kerb on the 125mph, fifth-gear left-hand turn seven on the dusty Sakhir circuit, his car snapping into a slide before careering back to the opposite side of the circuit, skidding sideways across the gravel trap and slamming broadside-on into a tire barrier.
The impact triggered a G-force warning light, signaling that Hamilton was obliged to submit himself to a medical check, but because of a misunderstanding with the marshal on whose motorcycle pillion he returned to the paddock he was delivered instead back to the McLaren team garage. Officials accepted this as a genuine mistake and there was no question of any penalty being applied.
"It was a shame that I ended what had been a productive day going off the circuit and hitting the barriers," said the Briton, who finished fourth fastest immediately ahead of his McLaren team-mate, Heikki Kovalainen. "I am absolutely fine, and hopefully the damage to the car is not too bad. We would have had to change our gearbox anyway so hopefully I am not going to be too unpopular with the boys in the garage."
Hamilton explained that the track was extremely dusty throughout both sessions. "I just lost the rear end and ended up in the wall," he said. "It was one of those things.That's what happens when you are trying to find the limits." He added: "I guess it's one of those circuits where you don't feel like you're particularly going anywhere because you don't have trees flying past you. All you have is perhaps a couple of markers, braking boards, a couple of bridges, but apart from that there's nothing really giving you a great indication of just how quick you're going or where you need to be braking."
There had been much pre-event speculation that McLaren would pay the price for failing to attend last month's formula one test in Bahrain, suggesting that they might otherwise not have ended up with Hamilton 1.4sec slower than last year's winner Felipe Massa, who headed the times ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. But Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren's chief operating officer, indicated that this was of no concern to the team and they were confident that it was possible to work out a competitive chassis setup in the time available in the scheduled practice sessions supplemented by technical data gathered at previous races here.
"The nature of the Bahrain circuit is very similar to Canada," said Whitmarsh. "It's tough on brakes and there are some big stops at the end of the high-speed turns, which makes things exciting from an overtaking point of view, but it is extremely tough on the cars. In addition the lack of key features around the track means that the drivers really have to concentrate on their braking points as traditionally they use landmarks to pick them.
"Of course we would have liked to test in Bahrain but we do have to prioritize where we spend our time. Over the winter we have improved the aerodynamic efficiency of the car and cooling generally, so it's not currently one of our vulnerable points. We have good data from running at the Bahrain track in previous years so we are confident it will not prove too much of a disadvantage."
Despite this, McLaren insiders last night acknowledged that Ferrari seemed to have sustained the slight performance edge the Italian team displayed in Malaysia two weeks ago, Massa being determined to reverse a poor run of results which has seen the Brazilian retire from both races so far this season.
"I think we are working in the right direction in terms of setting up the car and so I feel confident about the rest of the weekend," said Massa. "I like this track and think we will be very competitive. The wind is expected to be stronger tomorrow and on Sunday and that would make driving more difficult, but on the plus side there will be more grip."
Bahrain International
No of laps 57
Lap length 3.362 miles
Race distance 191.634 miles
Fastest lap 1:30.252s - M Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004
First used 2004
Winner last year F Massa, Ferrari
TV coverage Final qualifying - ITV1 Today, 11.10am; Grand prix - ITV1 Tomorrow, 11.30am
Weather forecast 26°
Hamilton lost control after riding too far up the kerb on the 125mph, fifth-gear left-hand turn seven on the dusty Sakhir circuit, his car snapping into a slide before careering back to the opposite side of the circuit, skidding sideways across the gravel trap and slamming broadside-on into a tire barrier.
The impact triggered a G-force warning light, signaling that Hamilton was obliged to submit himself to a medical check, but because of a misunderstanding with the marshal on whose motorcycle pillion he returned to the paddock he was delivered instead back to the McLaren team garage. Officials accepted this as a genuine mistake and there was no question of any penalty being applied.
"It was a shame that I ended what had been a productive day going off the circuit and hitting the barriers," said the Briton, who finished fourth fastest immediately ahead of his McLaren team-mate, Heikki Kovalainen. "I am absolutely fine, and hopefully the damage to the car is not too bad. We would have had to change our gearbox anyway so hopefully I am not going to be too unpopular with the boys in the garage."
Hamilton explained that the track was extremely dusty throughout both sessions. "I just lost the rear end and ended up in the wall," he said. "It was one of those things.That's what happens when you are trying to find the limits." He added: "I guess it's one of those circuits where you don't feel like you're particularly going anywhere because you don't have trees flying past you. All you have is perhaps a couple of markers, braking boards, a couple of bridges, but apart from that there's nothing really giving you a great indication of just how quick you're going or where you need to be braking."
There had been much pre-event speculation that McLaren would pay the price for failing to attend last month's formula one test in Bahrain, suggesting that they might otherwise not have ended up with Hamilton 1.4sec slower than last year's winner Felipe Massa, who headed the times ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. But Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren's chief operating officer, indicated that this was of no concern to the team and they were confident that it was possible to work out a competitive chassis setup in the time available in the scheduled practice sessions supplemented by technical data gathered at previous races here.
"The nature of the Bahrain circuit is very similar to Canada," said Whitmarsh. "It's tough on brakes and there are some big stops at the end of the high-speed turns, which makes things exciting from an overtaking point of view, but it is extremely tough on the cars. In addition the lack of key features around the track means that the drivers really have to concentrate on their braking points as traditionally they use landmarks to pick them.
"Of course we would have liked to test in Bahrain but we do have to prioritize where we spend our time. Over the winter we have improved the aerodynamic efficiency of the car and cooling generally, so it's not currently one of our vulnerable points. We have good data from running at the Bahrain track in previous years so we are confident it will not prove too much of a disadvantage."
Despite this, McLaren insiders last night acknowledged that Ferrari seemed to have sustained the slight performance edge the Italian team displayed in Malaysia two weeks ago, Massa being determined to reverse a poor run of results which has seen the Brazilian retire from both races so far this season.
"I think we are working in the right direction in terms of setting up the car and so I feel confident about the rest of the weekend," said Massa. "I like this track and think we will be very competitive. The wind is expected to be stronger tomorrow and on Sunday and that would make driving more difficult, but on the plus side there will be more grip."
Bahrain International
No of laps 57
Lap length 3.362 miles
Race distance 191.634 miles
Fastest lap 1:30.252s - M Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004
First used 2004
Winner last year F Massa, Ferrari
TV coverage Final qualifying - ITV1 Today, 11.10am; Grand prix - ITV1 Tomorrow, 11.30am
Weather forecast 26°
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