Hamilton crashes as Red Bull dominate

LEWIS HAMILTON admits his crash in yesterday’s opening practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix was the result of “pushing too hard, too early”.

Hamilton lost over two hours of development time after suffering the accident when he ran wide at the tricky Degner Curve and wiped off his front-left wheel and suspension assembly.

The impact required a major rebuild by the McLaren mechanics, and the Briton only made it out for the final 10 minutes of the second practice session.

His best time in that session was some two seconds off the pace of fastest man Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull).

Vettel finished four-tenths of a second faster than team-mate Mark Webber, with Renault’s Robert Kubica another four-tenths back in third.

Hamilton admits he has made life tough for himself: “I was probably pushing too hard, too early. It wasn’t even that big an off, it was just unfortunate that the gravel was very slippery at that point,” said Hamilton.

“But the mechanics did an incredible job, they really had to work so hard, but they are so good and we did the last 10 minutes of the second session.”

Inclement weather may yet come to Hamilton’s rescue. Rain started pouring heavily over the Suzuka circuit shortly after the end of second practice, and forecasts suggest it will stick around well into today.

A sodden track should be a good leveller in final practice and qualifying, but Hamilton admits his accident has left him some way off understanding how his car is performing on Suzuka’s famous sweeps and undulations.

“A lot of time was lost, but tomorrow’s another day and hopefully it’s going to rain so I guess everyone has to start again tomorrow,” he said.

“I did just four timed laps in second practice, so I was just getting back into the groove. I didn’t get a feel of where the car is exactly, but tomorrow will be a little bit different.

“We have to work hard to keep the car on the track during practice three and then see how qualifying is.”

Hamilton’s tribulations overshadowed the imperious form of the Red Bulls, who finished first and second in both practice sessions, with Vettel showing the way to team-mate and championship leader Mark Webber.

Vettel won this race from pole last year and is on target to repeat that feat after setting a benchmark time of one minute 31.465 seconds in session two.

Championship leader Webber, who enjoys a 21-point cushion over his team-mate, finished 0.395secs down, with Renault’s Robert Kubica third.

Red Bull’s rivals hope a wet qualifying session could see their advantage curtailed, but Vettel is confident his car will perform regardless of the conditions.

“The forecast suggests rain, but there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be competitive in the wet,” he said.

“The conditions have been quite inconsistent during all the wet races we’ve had so far this year, so it’s hard to know what everyone’s pace will be."