LEWIS HAMILTON 'DESTROYS' FERRARI IN THE FINAL BELGIAN GP PRACTICE

It was almost a carbon-copy repeat of Pierre Gasly's incident in Friday practice.

Lewis Hamilton left his Ferrari mechanics with a mountain to climb ahead of qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix after crashing in final practice.

In what was an almost identical incident to Alpine driver Pierre Gasly's smash in second practice on Friday, on his final flying lap in the dying moments of FP3 at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Hamilton ran wide in emerging from the Fagnes chicane.

In attempting to control his car as it careered across the gravel, the seven-time F1 champion hit a barrier with the rear of his SF-26.

The impact immediately ripped off the rear wheel that was left hanging on by its tethers, whilst also severely damaging the rear wing.

Unlike Gasly, who spun through 360 degrees twice before finally coming to rest, Hamilton maintained forward momentum before finally stopping on track due to the damage sustained.

Asked over the radio whether he was okay, Hamilton responded by saying: "I've destroyed the car! Sorry!"

It means his team is in a race against time to repair the car and ready it for qualifying, which starts at 3pm UK [4pm CET; 10am EST].

- Ian Parkes

LEWIS HAMILTON CONFIRMS MAJORMAJOR CHANGE ON FERRARI F1 CAR FOR CHINESE GP

Lewis Hamilton has confirmed a major change to the Ferrari SF-26 will be implemented at this weekend’s Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix.

The Scuderia arrives in Shanghai off the back of a positive opening round in Australia, in which teammate Charles Leclerc came home in third, with Hamilton just behind in fourth.

A lax pit stop strategy during an early Virtual Safety Car was the Maranello-based squad’s undoing, contributing to its challenge to eventual winners Mercedes falling off.

One element to the SF-26 that did not arrive in Melbourne was its ‘flip’ rear wing, which was briefly trialled at the second week of pre-season testing in Bahrain.

Hamilton completed five laps on the second day with the wing, which rotated 180 degrees when opened in ‘active aero’ mode.

And speaking to media including Motorsport Week at the Shanghai International Circuit, Hamilton confirmed the wing will make its full race debut this weekend, explaining the wing currently has only colloquial terms for its identity.

“I don’t think there’s any [official name for the rotating rear wing],” he said.

“We did a full day or so with the wing [in testing] and we got all the running needed with it.

“I’m so grateful for the team to work because it was actually supposed to be later down the line and they work really hard to develop it and get it brought here

“So that, for me, it’s just great to see that the team are fighting, the team are pushing and chasing and really working overtime back at the factory to be able to bring upgrades, because that’s the name of the game.”

Hamilton continued: “I think last year I didn’t get to see the team’s full potential in that mode because we were focused on this year’s car.

“I don’t know if it has an official name. Someone said ‘macarena’, I have no idea why!”

With a kilometre-long back straight and other fast areas to see the wing flex its metaphorical muscle, it will be intriguing to see whether it can propel Hamilton and Leclerc to another challenge for race victory.

- Jack Oliver Smith