Lewis Hamilton hints ‘finding the limits’ led to mysterious F1 testing crash

Lewis Hamilton has hinted that trying to “find the limits” at Ferrari led to his F1 testing crash.

Hamilton crashed out on the second day of his first TPC test with Ferrari at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

All drivers on the grid are entitled to 1,000km of running in an older F1 car throughout the entire year.

To get Hamilton up to speed ahead of the new season, Ferrari organised a test at the Spanish GP circuit in the 2023 car.

While the first day went smoothly, it was widely reported that Hamilton shunted the SF-23 in the final sector on day two.

This meant that Charles Leclerc couldn’t run in the car again and had to wait until the following week’s Pirelli tyre test.

Specific details or footage of the crash haven’t emerged, and Hamilton has not directly addressed it during his various interviews since.

However, during an official interview, Hamilton briefly mentioned his first tests with the team, laughing when he said, “I definitely did that,” as referenced the need to find the car's limit.

“I’ve enjoyed the testing that we’ve had,” Hamilton said. I’ve had to find the limits as quickly as possible because I’ve only had a handful of days and I definitely did that. It’s just been fun.

“Each week has been so different. There’s still a long road ahead of us and a lot of challenges for sure.

“I think we’ve covered as much as we could possibly cover in the small time we’ve had so far.”

“Everything is just so different” at Ferrari

Hamilton will have to get up to speed quickly with pre-season testing, and then the season-opener fast approaching.

The 40-year-old got to drive Ferrari’s 2025 car on Wednesday at the team’s home track at Fiorano.

An added challenge for Hamilton will be adapting to a new team, as he’s always driven with a Mercedes power unit throughout his career.

Reflecting on his first weeks with the team, Hamilton noted how everyone at Ferrari is “very hungry” for success.

“So I’ve been working with the engineers since day two of being at the factory,” he added.

“Trying to get to know them and have them get to know me as quickly as possible. Everything’s just so different here. I remember when I moved from McLaren to Mercedes, that was a big leap, but it was still the Mercedes engine. There were some similarities but coming here to Italy.

“Everything is just so different. The tools in which we use, the language element, but everyone has been amazing to work with so far. Clearly, everyone’s very hungry, super driven, massively committed.”