Hamilton says Mercedes crash a ‘hiccup’ as F1 testing begins

Lewis Hamilton described his latest test shunt as nothing more than “a hiccup” on the day he ushered in Formula One’s new turbo era with an unwanted bang.

Hamilton and the new Mercedes W05 were the first to take to the circuit at Jerez on the opening day of the first pre-season test, which proved to be a nightmare for all on show.

A front-wing failure saw Hamilton hammer nose first into a barrier at the end of the start-finish straight. The exact cause of the incident is under investigation.

Mercedes will hope the repairs can be made ahead of Nico Rosberg’s run today.

For Hamilton, it was the second time in successive years he had been let down by his Mercedes on the first day of testing — 12 months ago a rear-brake failure brought his maiden outing to a premature end.

Attempting to extract the positives, Hamilton said: “Apart from the ending, it has generally been quite a positive day.

“You have to remember this is a testing ground, the place to have hiccups, and we’ll overcome them because we have a great team here.”