Lewis Hamilton crashed his Ferrari during a private pre-season test in Barcelona on Wednesday.
The seven-time world champion was declared unhurt after the smash at Circuit de Catalunya, venue for his third day in the red car he will race on a £50million-a-year deal that takes him away from Mercedes.
Hamilton, 40, was sharing testing duties with team-mate Charles Leclerc, having first driven a Ferrari at the team’s test track in Fiorano last week.
The accident was an echo of Hamilton’s mishap with McLaren in 2007, when he had a far bigger shunt in Valencia ahead of his Formula One debut.
Ferrari declined to comment – part of the veil of secrecy they are throwing over Hamilton as he acclimatises to his new machinery.
The Briton was driving the 2023 Ferrari, the latest model he is allowed to test for up to 1,000km (621 miles) under the TPC (testing of previous cars) regulation. The car was badly damaged.
Lewis Hamilton, pictured in Fiorano last week, suffered a crash when testing in Barcelona
The crash is an early setback for Hamilton following his blockbuster move to Ferrari
Hamilton will test again in Barcelona next week, ahead of the first outing in the 2025 car in Bahrain, starting on February 26.
Johnny Herbert, meanwhile, has left his role as an FIA driver steward after declining to give up his columns for gambling websites.
His expenses as a steward were not equal to his media-related remuneration.
The departure of the 1995 British Grand Prix winner will be welcomed by Max Verstappen’s camp, who believed Herbert was behind the reigning champion’s punishments for what was deemed to be over-aggressive driving in Mexico last year.