Ferrari have a bit of an embarrassing situation on their hands having been forced to abandon the first test of 2017.
Ferrari’s driver Sebastian Vettel’s accident yesterday whilst testing the new Pirelli 2017 tyres has blamed for the test grinding to a halt due to a lack of spare parts. Embarrassing indeed for the Italian F1 squad as the test happened to be on their very own test track at Fiorano.
Footage of Vettels ‘off’ was captured trackside and posted on Twitter.
The footage shows Sebastian ran off the artificially-soaked track on the shallow left-hand kink after the bridge crossing, hitting the barriers head on.
Further implications of the crash being that Ferrari’s newest driver Antonio Giovinazzi, will lose a chance to gain mileage as he had been due to take over duties today.
The irony of the aquaplaning accident isn’t lost of F1 fans. The reason for the test was to improve the Pirelli wet weather tyre for 2017, clearly more work to be done then.
Sebastian Vettel escaped any serious injury other than some minor bruising.
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
Off to a bad start.
Then again, Schumacher endured serious offs during early tests and went on to win the title…
It’s good the see progress in the wet pirellis.