New McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton had a crash today on Lap 33 whilst testing at the Ricardo Tormo track in Valencia. The new MP4-22 car was severely damaged, however Hamilton walked away unharmed. The car has been so badly damaged it will not be repaired in time for testing tomorrow, so Hamilton will be forced to watch from the sidelines leaving team-mate Alonso to complete the rest of the testing sessions alone.
“Unfortunately these things happen in this sport,” Hamilton commented. “I am completely fine and I’m looking forward to getting back to testing next week. ”
Fellow Brit David Coulthard does not believe that the crash will shake Hamilton’s confidence. “It’s not a problem”, Coulthard explained. “I destroyed a Williams on the day that Frank came to Jerez to tell me I had got the drive for this Grand Prix. I had never damaged a Williams in the two years that I had driven there.”
Of Hamilton, Coulthard also said, “If he’s sore, I’m sorry for him. But I don’t doubt for one moment that he will get back in the car and do the same thing because that’s what racing drivers do. We don’t have an imagination for the injury.”
Coulthard went on to explain how he was unsure who’s fault the crash was. “I crashed McLaren cars more often than not because of car failure. McLaren have had their fair share of testing car failures, so when I see that he’s crashed the car, the first thing that I think is has the car broken, rather than has he run out of talent?”
