Badoer hurt in test accident.

Luca Badoer was rushed to hospital today after suffering a major accident in testing at the Circuit de Catalunya.

The Ferrari driver was only a short way into his planned programme when he appeared to lose control at the end of the Barcelona facility's main straight, crashing headlong into the barriers. Medical assistance was quickly on the scene, and Badoer was airlifted to the nearby San Cugat Hospital, where he was diagnosed as having minor injuries.

Ferrari has yet to confirm the cause of the incident, although it admitted in an official statement that it was mechanical failure rather than driver error.

"Luca Badoer took to the track at 10-20 this morning to work on tyre testing and set-up," the announcement revealed, "On his eleventh lap, during his second run, he lost control at the end of the main straight and crashed into the safety barrier. The accident was caused by mechanical failure.

Assistance was immediately on hand and Badoer was taken, first to the medical centre and then, by helicopter, to the Catalunya General Hospital San Cugat.

An examination revealed that he had no specific injuries. However, he is now resting and will spend the night in hospital under observation. He is scheduled to return to Italy tomorrow [Monday].

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro will not now be testing tomorrow, with the programme resuming as scheduled on Tuesday."

The accident caused a major interruption to the session, which was attended by Bridgestone runners Ferrari, McLaren and Arrows. David Coulthard proved fastest of all over the day.