Hamilton had an accident while testing a new pedal configuration.

      Lewis Hamilton was testing a new pedal configuration when he crashed at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya on Wednesday. As part of the preparations for his first season with Ferrari in 2025, the seven-time world champion was driving a 2023 car when he collided with the barriers in the fast final sector. Ferrari downplayed the incident but did not provide specifics, with reports indicating that the bodywork and suspension were damaged around 11 am. The planned afternoon session for teammate Charles Leclerc in the same car was canceled.

      As reported by La Repubblica and Sky Italia, Hamilton was experimenting with a different pedal layout after having difficulty with the standard setup during his debut at Fiorano last week. There are also speculations that Hamilton is having trouble adapting to Ferrari’s Brembo braking system, having grown accustomed to Carbon Industries components during his lengthy time at Mercedes. It has been suggested that Hamilton, at 40, inquired about using Carbon Industries brakes for the 2025 season, but sources close to Ferrari and Brembo denied this, according to the Spanish newspaper Marca.

      The Italian media outlet Virgilio Motori reports that Hamilton has been focusing on refining the 'trail braking' technique, which is more suited to Ferrari's Brembo system. The new collaboration between Ferrari and Hamilton has drawn criticism, particularly after Carlos Sainz was let go. Russian F1 commentator Alexey Popov noted, "I read that Luca di Montezemolo is not too pleased." He added, "(Flavio) Briatore has doubts, and even (Toto) Wolff has shown mixed feelings towards it."

      "Many will claim, ‘Your career is waning at 40’. Yes, last year in qualifying, he lost significantly to (George) Russell. But knowing throughout the year that he was leaving and Russell was staying — I don’t want to imply Mercedes provided him with inferior parts, but perhaps the Ferrari will be designed more to his preferences."

      Former F1 steward Johnny Herbert also weighed in on Hamilton’s transition to Ferrari, which has garnered significant global attention. "From what Lewis has said so far, his motivation is clearly intact," Herbert remarked. "I could point out that he’s made more mistakes than I’ve observed previously, but I think the circumstances at Mercedes were not conducive. It’s up to Fred Vasseur to give him a car that he can genuinely perform in."

      Before Wednesday’s incident, Leclerc expressed to Sky Italia: "I feel very optimistic because we're currently performing well as a team and are much more cohesive. However, Formula 1 is a relative sport, and we can only assess our performance — we can't determine if Red Bull or McLaren has discovered something significantly advantageous for their cars. Thus, it’s challenging to make definitive statements about it. We’re focusing on ourselves and striving to do our best," Leclerc concluded.