adminLewis Hamilton has suffered a crash in his Mercedes on the first day of pre-season testing in Spain. Mercedes, who had unveiled their car to the media yesterday, said the crash was caused by a front-wing failure which would be investigated.An official tweet from the team said Hamilton, who hit the tyre barrier at the first corner, was “fine”.
Eye-witnesses at the Jerez track said they saw the front wing come off the car before Hamilton lost control. The car’s right front wheel and suspension were damaged but otherwise the damage appeared relatively light.
Hamilton, 29, won the world championship in 2008 while with McLaren. Ten of the 11 teams are at Jerez putting the first miles on new cars which incorporate major changes since last year.
Only Mercedes, Ferrari, Toro Rosso, Sauber and Force India have done any running so far. Red Bull, McLaren and Williams have been unable to get their cars running, Caterham are still building theirs and Marussia’s is en route from their factory in Oxfordshire to southern Spain.
Lotus are skipping this test because their car is not ready. New rules introduced this year, which involve new turbo-charged engines and significant aerodynamic changes, are the biggest for a generation.
All the teams are predicting that reliability will be a major concern through testing and into the start of the season. Red Bull and Mercedes, the two teams that start 2014 as favourites, have unveiled their new cars ahead of the start of pre-season testing.
Both have chosen a similar approach to the new rules this year, the biggest regulation change for a generation. And both have eschewed the narrow-prong, anteater nose seen on many cars.
Red Bull and Mercedes both have elegantly sloping fronts to the cars, in response to regulations that demand a lower nose for safety reasons.
Their cars have followed a similar design route to the new Ferrari, expected to be the other major contender, although both Red Bull and Mercedes have maintained a more elegant downward curve to their cars’ noses than the Italian team.
Red Bull have managed to integrate the new rules while keeping the car looking fundamentally similar to the generation that have helped Sebastian Vettel win the last four world championships.
Mercedes, who carry Lewis Hamilton’s hopes, have integrated the camera mounts on the nose into the aerodynamic design, by mounting them on r-shaped pillars on the top of the nose cone.
This may cause some of their rivals to question whether that is allowed. The lower chassis and other aerodynamic changes are the smaller part of a major set of new regulations, which also include the introduction of turbocharged engines for the first time since 1988.
These feature the most extensive use of energy recovery – or hybrid – systems in the sport’s history. As a result, engines are now called power-units.
Mercedes have also had to adapt to a change of leadership following the departure of team principal Ross Brawn in December.
They will be led by their twin executive directors Paddy Lowe and Toto Wolff, with Lowe in charge of the sporting and technical side of the team and Wolff the political and business. – BBC.
Online Reporter