Hamilton unhurt in high speed crash

[Marbot]

Thankfully uninjured.The car was not so lucky however.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/56476

[koper]

Good that Lewis is OK.

But one questin is coming to my mind:
Was that mechanical failure or driver error.

I think if McLaren was't sure that te crash was caused by driver they wouldn't let Alonso drive after the accident.

If that was Lewis' mistake that doesn't mean anything good - as for me it would look as he already feels the pressure.

What's your recon?

[maximus]

Mistakes do happen.

[outflat]

Yes.

Back in the day people used to expect mistakes from time to time, but that was before the blame culture on the internet.

Clearly they'd rather it hadn't happened, but pressure? I don't think so.

[koper]

Originally Posted by outflat

Yes.

Back in the day people used to expect mistakes from time to time, but that was before the blame culture on the internet.

Clearly they'd rather it hadn't happened, but pressure? I don't think so.

I don't get your point, sorry

[outflat]

Drivers crash in testing all the time.

A few years ago, we'd only know by picking up Autosport a week later.

Now there are testing reports online and people come onto forums and analyse to the nth degree.

I'd be more surprised if a first year driver didn't have a few testing shunts as he found the limit.

It would be more pressure if he was an under-budgeted driver scraping a drive with a back of the grid team, rather than one where he's nurtured and supported.

[strider]

Perhaps we should get this out of the way now. It's Lewis's first year in F1 and his team-mate is the reigning, two-time WDC.

Lewis will try his very best to match up and that means he will crash a few times. As long as he's unhurt, it doesn't really matter. He'll get it out of his system in time. It will be interesting to see whether it's sooner or later.

[chillibowl]

happy he escaped unhurt

but not a knock on LH and mistakes and accidents do happen, but the loss of one of the new chassis will no doubt put a strain on Mclarens development for the upcoming season.

will he be testing again tomorrow in an old car or is he done for the remainder of this test?

[Spudgun]

The only way to know where the limit is, is to cross it. I'm glad he's giving it 100% and I wish him well. Its him I'll be keeping my eye on come Melbourne.

[bosch!]

If you look at the times Alonso was over a second up before Hamilton had his off

Prior to his crash, Hamilton completed 33 laps, with a best time of 1:12.596 - while Alonso completed 76 laps with a best time of 1:11.698.

Obviously its impossible to know what test programs they were carrying out.

[alonso11]

for a rookie there is almost no proper off-season preparation without a big crash, i mean its hard to really know the limit without going over it at least once)

[JeremySmith]

As long as Lewis is okay that is all that matters...

[bosch!]

Originally Posted by alonso11

for a rookie there is almost no proper off-season preparation without a big crash, i mean its hard to really know the limit without going over it at least once)

I agree, but lets wait to see how responsibly the motoring journalists write this up

Thankfully uninjured.The car was not so lucky however.

Modern cars are "designed" to crash. There remains the possibility of car failure this early into testing.

[neilap]

We can look at the lap times but we should also look at the number of laps. Alonso had ample laps to run that time. I don't like to see the limits tested in this fashion but the good thing is he is ok.

[Obizzz]

Originally Posted by outflat

I'd be more surprised if a first year driver didn't have a few testing shunts as he found the limit.

Very true.. you don't know where the limit is unless you've been over it

[Suze]

Are there pics of the car on the AS report? (I would look but from here the link is very slow and then not opening!).

[safc_fan89]

Crashing is part and parcel of motorsport. It's a bit stupid that some of you are now being critical because he crashed. Big deal. You learn from mistakes.

[Ranald]

We don't even know if it was a mistake yet!

[Gerben24]

It's a shame Lewis is going to miss time in the car now.

[SALEEN S7R]

Originally Posted by neilap

We can look at the lap times but we should also look at the number of laps. Alonso had ample laps to run that time.

I agree. And when Hamilton crashed it was most likely to have been in the morning when tracks arent generally at their quickest.

[safc_fan89]

You can't use testing times to compare the relative performance of the 2 drivers. First time you can is March 16th in Australia.

ps. I know we don't know the cause of the crash but thats his first crash in F1, and it's not like this was his first test anyway

[BootsOntheSide]

I'm not sure there is a huge amount of pressure on Lewis anyway. You don't realistically expect a rookie to outperform a double World Champion, and you don't expect them to go through a whole season without a couple of crashes. Michael Schumacher had quite a few at the start of his career, and Mika Hakkinen had several when he started racing for McLaren. The point about having to exceed the limit in order to find the limit is especially valid - it's also why Michael used to go off quite often in practice, but very rarely in the races.

[Knowlesy]

There will be plenty more mistakes to come this season, he's a rookie after all! Give the man a break!

Judge him after this season if we are talking about dealing with pressure and all that.

[Marbot]

I am sure that dispite the inevitable shunts,there will also be flashes of brilliance.

[Doc Hollywood]

Jeez, you know its silly season when things like this get two pages of coverage!

Seriously lads and ladies! Get a life!