Hamilton crashes early into new F1 chapter
Hamilton encounters an early crash in his new F1 chapter.The Mercedes W04 was unveiled on February 4 in Jerez, where the first pre-season test of the year took place.
The car hit the track that day for an initial shakedown before the official test scheduled for the next day.Nico Rosberg took the driver’s seat for the first of four days of testing, marking the start of F1’s final season with V8 engines.
The year began disastrously for Mercedes when Rosberg had to pull over after completing only 14 laps due to smoke emerging from the rear of his car. This incident resulted in Mercedes not returning to the track that day.
On the second day of testing, Hamilton got behind the wheel for his debut appearance with Mercedes in an official session.Hamilton’s move from McLaren created quite a buzz during the off-season, marking an important moment for both parties involved.
However, Hamilton completed only 15 laps during the session before experiencing a brake failure at the Turn 6 hairpin. This mishap caused him to skid across the gravel and crash into the tyre barrier, abruptly ending his notable day.
After stepping out of the cockpit, Hamilton downplayed the significance of the crash.”I’m just relieved that, first and foremost, I’m safe and this occurred now rather than during the season,” said Hamilton.
Testing involves navigating through development phases, identifying errors or issues, and addressing them. That’s exactly what the team is focused on doing.”The impact was quite significant, though it wasn’t as severe as what I’ve encountered before.
“On day four of the test, Hamilton was back in the cockpit and had a significantly more productive session, completing 145 laps.From that point on, the partnership thrived and achieved exceptional success over the following 12 seasons.
