‘Lewis Hamilton fans can feel delighted’ in surprise Ferrari crash verdict

While Lewis Hamilton crashing in testing ahead of his Ferrari debut may be alarming “on the face of it”, in actual fact, it showed just how comfortable he was feeling.

That is the claim made by Formula 1 analyst Peter Windsor, who is adamant that Hamilton fans should be “delighted”, not concerned despite that testing setback in Barcelona.

‘Lewis Hamilton fans can feel delighted’ despite Barcelona shunt

With Hamilton gearing up for his Ferrari debut after making the blockbuster move from Mercedes, Ferrari’s pre-F1 2025 season preparations took them to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for a three-day private test, but their plans took an unexpected twist on the morning session of day two after Hamilton crashed the SF-23, Ferrari’s F1 2023 challenger.

Hamilton’s incident reportedly occurred through the high-speed final turn, inflicting damage on the suspension and aerodynamic components, with team-mate Charles Leclerc unable to complete his planned afternoon outing as a result.

Ferrari’s move to bring in Hamilton at the expense of Carlos Sainz has sparked plenty of debate, with the likes of ex-Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto, Alpine’s Flavio Briatore and ex-F1 team boss Eddie Jordan questioning that decision.

However, Windsor does not believe that this Barcelona shunt should be cause for negativity. Instead, he feels supporters of Hamilton should be “delighted” that the seven-time World Champion was so quickly feeling so good at the wheel for his new team and just pushed a little too far.

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Speaking via his YouTube channel, Windsor said: “On the face of it, Lewis Hamilton’s first proper test with Ferrari which took place in Barcelona last week was not the greatest of tests in that it ended in a massive shunt coming out of the last corner.

“But on the face of it you would think therefore, a little bit of a difficult first test for Lewis at his new team and what will be the repercussions of that.

“My take is that it was actually a very, very good test for Lewis and I think all Lewis Hamilton fans can feel delighted at the way that test went.

“Yeah, there was the shunt, but let’s look at the build-up to that shunt and the reasons for it.

“Nothing to do with a bump on the road or any of that stuff, it was all tied to how good Lewis felt in the car and how he’s feeling within the team, he feels great in the team.

“And that car, the 2023 Ferrari, which let’s face it was not the greatest of Grand Prix cars built by Ferrari.

“But guess what, in that car, Lewis Hamilton felt better than he’s felt certainly over the last couple of years in Formula 1 in the Mercedes, probably going back I would think to the beginning of 2022.

“He loved the feeling of feeling the road again and actually being a part of the car and kind of being on top of the car and getting it to be a part of his DNA and what he does in a race car, he loved that.”

Hamilton’s place at Mercedes has been filled by their Italian teenage sensation Kimi Antonelli, who takes over as team-mate to George Russell.

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