Despite a minor hiccup, Lewis Hamilton had a thrilling experience during his Ferrari test drive. That's even despite crashing the car on the second day. The Formula 1 star clocked in some crucial track time at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya earlier this week, contributing to Ferrari's pre-season preparations with three days of testing. Hamilton shared the wheel with new team-mate Charles Leclerc and Ferrari development driver Antonio Giovinazzi. However, it wasn't all smooth sailing for the Brit as he encountered a high-profile mishap on day two.

He collided with a barrier in the final sector, leaving him unscathed but the car in a less than ideal condition. The crash caused significant damage to the suspension and aerodynamics, leading to mechanics spending hours performing repairs in the garage. Despite the setback, Hamilton was buoyed by the car's performance and relayed 'very positive impressions' to his Ferrari engineers, per Gazzetta dello Sport. The report claims Hamilton found the car to be well-suited to his aggressive driving style, particularly his late braking and ability to maintain high speeds into corners.

The 40-year-old has swiftly acclimatised to Ferrari's braking system, which differs from what he was used to at Mercedes. He has also reportedly 'become familiar' with the start procedure and releasing the clutch, marking another promising development, reports the Express. After wrapping up the pre-season tests in Barcelona, Hamilton took to Instagram with a vibe of eager anticipation. He posted a snap of himself casually leaning on the pit wall, captioned: "First race can't come soon enough.".

Despite a crash during testing, the mood wasn't dampened, with ex-Williams ace Juan Pablo Montoya shrugging off any bad luck concerns. as he told AS: "It is a regular test and the truth is that it does not bother me that he crashed. "It is a fast turn that you can enter very fast and there are a lot of potholes in the middle of the curve, then you can get out of control of the car very easily. Normally it doesn't happen, but when there's not much space [it can].

"The reason the accident was a big deal is that when you don't think about F1, how fast they are going, when you make the mistake and you're already off the track, the chances of not hitting anything is very low.". Catch all the action from Formula One on Sky Sports and get exclusive access to races, qualifying and much more for every Grand Prix. From Max Verstappen to Lewis Hamilton, you won't miss a lap on Sky Sports.