Sebastian Vettel crashed into a tire barrier in Formula One preseason testing, damaging his Ferrari but not sustaining injuries.
The German driver lost control of his car in the third corner at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit, going off the gravel until he rammed the barrier.
Ferrari reported that Vettel was left out with a “mechanical problem.” He added that the car was sent to workshops “for the corresponding revisions.”
The Italian team did not specify the problem that caused Vettel to crash in the morning session of the second of four days of testing. The incident prompted the red flag to be displayed.
McLaren’s Spanish Carlos Sainz led Wednesday’s session with a time of 1 minute 17.144 seconds, the fastest time after six days of testing. Vettel had set the second fastest time of the day, followed by the Red Bull of the Dutchman Max Verstappen and the Mercedes of the Finn Valtteri Bottas.
Also on Wednesday, McLaren announced that two-time world champion Fernando Alonso will serve as the team’s ambassador, and they will continue to serve as an advisor to their drivers and engineers. He will also drive in “selected tests to support the development” of the team’s single-seaters for 2020.
Alonso, who was present at the Catalan circuit on Tuesday, will drive for McLaren in the Indianapolis 500 this year. AP