Leclerc tops final Spanish Grand Prix practice as Hamilton crashes

Lewis Hamilton crashed his Ferrari in final practice for the Spanish Grand Prix at Madrid’s new Formula One circuit on Saturday, bringing the session to a halt with just over half an hour remaining.

The seven-time world champion locked up and went into the barriers at the final corner. He managed to reverse out and tried to get the damaged Ferrari back to the Madring pitlane, virtually a whole lap, while ignoring team instructions to stop.

The Briton eventually did pull over, with the front wing still wedged under the car which also had a punctured front right tyre.

“Stop the car. Stop in the safest place possible,” he had been told earlier.

“If I can make it back I will. If not, I will do it safely,” replied Hamilton, who returned to the pits on the back of a moped after parking up.

The session was red-flagged and the clock then temporarily stopped for barrier repairs with 15 minutes to go.

Qualifying later on Saturday will be crucial for Sunday’s race, with overtaking likely to be difficult on the challenging layout that Mercedes’ George Russell said on Friday had less margin for error than Monaco because of the close walls but higher speeds involved.

Hamilton was fourth fastest at the time of the crash, with teammate Charles Leclerc top of the timesheets.