Intriguing - and unexpected - take on Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari crash shared

An intriguing observation has been made about Lewis Hamilton’s first F1 tests - and crash - with Ferrari.

The seven-time world champion made headlines when he crashed his Ferrari during the team’s pre-season testing programme. Hamilton was unhurt in the accident which took place on the second day of running during a behind closed doors test at Barcelona last Wednesday.

Ferrari downplayed the crash as nothing abnormal as Hamilton continued his assimilation into the team ahead of his debut season driving for the Scuderia, following his blockbuster switch from F1 rivals Mercedes.

Respected F1 observer and ex-team manager Peter Windsor has now shared why he thinks Hamilton’s crash was a positive early sign.

“On the face of it, Lewis Hamilton’s first proper test with Ferrari which took place in Barcelona last week was not the greatest of tests in that it ended in a massive shunt coming out of the last corner,” Windsor explained on his YouTube channel.

“But on the face of it you would think therefore, a little bit of a difficult first test for Lewis at his new team and what will be the repercussions of that.

“My take is that it was actually a very, very good test for Lewis and I think all Lewis Hamilton fans can feel delighted at the way that test went. Yeah, there was the shunt, but let’s look at the build-up to that shunt and the reasons for it.

“Nothing to do with a bump on the road or any of that stuff, it was all tied to how good Lewis felt in the car and how he’s feeling within the team, he feels great in the team. And that car, the 2023 Ferrari, which let’s face it was not the greatest of Grand Prix cars built by Ferrari.”

Windsor continued: “But guess what, in that car, Lewis Hamilton felt better than he’s felt certainly over the last couple of years in Formula 1 in the Mercedes, probably going back I would think to the beginning of 2022.

“He loved the feeling of feeling the road again and actually being a part of the car and kind of being on top of the car and getting it to be a part of his DNA and what he does in a race car, he loved that.

“And that’s why I think the racing driver took over in Lewis in that test. He’s integrated into that team incredibly well already, friendly faces there from his Mercedes championship winning days, plus of course Freddy Vasseur, and he’s won many races and championships with Freddy.

“So he’s integrated with the team beautiful and he loved the feel of the car compared to that of the Mercedes. His recent memory of the Mercedes. And so the racing driver took over.”

How will Leclerc react?

Windsor claims Hamilton is already in a good place ahead of his grand prix debut for Ferrari and believes the bigger question is how teammate Charles Leclerc responds. 

“Hamilton pushed the car to the limit and enjoying himself. It will be interesting to see how Leclerc performs alongside Lewis,” Windsor added.

“Obviously Lewis was quicker in terms of the lap times on this test and he did a lot more miles. For me, it’s a question of how Charles Leclerc will react now. It would have been a kind of ‘welcome to Ferrari’ thing when Lewis hit the wall.

“But there’s no doubt that Lewis is already super quick and doing a great job in the car. So for me it will be a question of how Charles manages his emotions now because he’s got to be ready for Lewis, potentially just through circumstances, maybe a very good start to the year and how Charles reacts to that.

“I still think over a year, a 24-race championship, Charles is the guy most likely to win a championship for Ferrari if it’s a championship-winning car. He has the potential to do that.”