Lewis Hamilton’s difficult start to his Ferrari career appears to continue after he crashed during Practice 3 in Monaco.
The seven-time world champion had been looking positive as both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc showed more pace than they expected going into the weekend.
That all came undone in the last five minutes of Saturday’s practice session as Hamilton lost the back end of his Ferrari and went sliding down the barrier at Massenet, ripping the wheels off his car.
As Hamilton crested the hill, he suddenly saw 3 cars going slowly ahead of him, as he tried to slow down he lost control and was very quickly met by the Monaco barriers.
Lewis Hamilton hit the barrier in final practice
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The crash occurred at nearly 175mph and only leaves his Scuderia team two and half hours to get his car ready in time for qualifying.
Ferrari had good pace around the Monte Carlo street circuit, with Hamilton’s teammate Leclerc topping all 3 practice sessions, as he aims to win back to back home races.
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After the crash Lewis Hamilton did confirm to his team that he was okay, coming onto the radio to say "Damn, hit the wall - sorry guys". He was running fifth in the standings when he caught the wall.
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Slow moving traffic ahead factored into the accident
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He pulled up at Casino Square to inspect the damage he has caused.
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Max Verstappen was second fastest in practice ahead of both of the McLaren’s, who seem to be being held much closer than at previous events.
The damage should be fixable before qualifying
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Qualifying at Monaco is arguably the most important qualifying session of the season, due to the tight and twisty nature of the Monaco streets, with Ferrari under a lot of stress to get Lewis Hamilton’s car ready in time.
