Ferrari scrapped Charles Leclerc’s run after Lewis Hamilton’s crash

Ferrari’s second F1 test day in Barcelona was cut short after Lewis Hamilton’s crash, Crash.net understands. 

The seven-time world champion suffered a crash on his third day driving a 2023 Ferrari car, which took place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Wednesday.

Hamilton was unhurt in the incident, which is understood to have occurred at Turn 12 after the 40-year-old Briton lost control of his car, but there were unintended knock-on effects for Ferrari. 

While Ferrari were able to repair the car following Hamilton’s shunt, fading light at the Spanish Grand Prix venue meant that teammate Charles Leclerc’s planned run in the afternoon had to be abandoned. 

The worsening visibly prevented Leclerc from being able to complete a single lap on what was his and Hamilton’s last day of running at Barcelona this week.

Ferrari are not commenting on the incident but a senior source has confirmed to Crash.net that Leclerc did not run. 

Ferrari reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi and junior Dino Beganovic have taken over in the SF-23 for the third and final day of the private test programme on Thursday.

Hamilton and Leclerc are due to return to Barcelona next week as Ferrari carry out a 2026 tyre test for Pirelli alongside McLaren on 4-5 February.

Hamilton’s shunt downplayed

There have been conflicting reports about the incident, with Sky describing it as “minor”, while Motorsport said it had caused “substantial damage” to the front end of the car, including the suspension and bodywork.

Ferrari regard the crash to be nothing abnormal as Hamilton continues to learn their car and get up to speed with the team after 12 years at Mercedes.

Craig Slater reported on Sky Sports News: “He was described as absolutely fine afterwards, by a senior Ferrari source.

“But the car had to be recovered, and taken back to the pits, for repairs.

“As it’s been explained to me, by a senior Ferrari source, this is perfectly normal for this time of year, particularly for someone like Hamilton who is looking to find the limit of his new equipment.”