Lewis Hamilton crashes in Monaco causing red flag and leaving Ferrari a wreck with race against time before qualifying
FERRARI found themselves racing against the clock to get Lewis Hamilton’s car ready for qualifying after he crashed in the final practice session.
The seven-time world champion was unhurt and safely left the car after the incident which happened in the dying moments of FP3 and an hour-and-a-half before qualifying.
The British driver had crunched into the barriers at Massanet at blistering speed with nowhere else to go on the streets of Monte Carlo.
He had come up over the crest and faced two cars moving slowly ahead so had to take action and avoid them.
Meanwhile his team-mate Charles Leclerc ended the session quickest again on his home turf in a boost to struggling Ferrari.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen was looking strong and came in second fastest while Lando Norris was third, Oscar Piastri fourth and Hamilton fifth before the crash.
Qualifying for tomorrow’s grand prix begins at 3:00pm, so Ferrari found themselves in a race against the clock to repair the car in time.
They released a statement shortly before qualifying was due to start to say Hamilton could take part.
Ferrari said: “On Lewis’ car we changed the nose, front wing and right front suspension. We also replaced the entire rear end, including left and right hand suspension and gearbox as this is a quicker procedure than simply changing the damaged right rear suspension.”
Lights out for tomorrow’s grand prix is at 2:00pm.
Hamilton will be hoping the car is all fixed after recording his best ever finish for Ferrari at Imola last week.
The seven-time world champion finished fourth, despite starting 12th on grid.
He has not got off to the best start this week either – yesterday he went airborne after driving over a kerb.
As Hamilton zoomed into the iconic “piscine” section of the track, he was forced to take evasive action as traffic ahead of him almost caused catastrophe.
The 40-year-old was forced to steer to the left to avoid a massive collision.
That saw him drive straight over the kerb of the chicane, which sent him flying into the air.