Ericsson escapes injury in smash
cockpit brought a loud round of applause from stunned F1 fans and was followed by a red flag which halted the session for 20 minutes as the debris was cleared up.
“I don’t know what happened,” Ericsson said over the radio. “I am OK.”
He was given the all-clear at the track’s medical facility and was later cleared to take part in today’s qualifying session, posting on social media: “I am all fine. It was a big one. The safety of the cars is incredible. Hopefully, tomorrow we should be back fighting and I look forward to that.”
The cause of the crash was put down to Ericsson’s Drag Reduction System (DRS) slot on his rear wing failing to close, as it should do automatically when a driver hits the brakes. Ericsson’s team-mate Charles Leclerc escaped unharmed from a first-lap smash at Spa last Sunday that saw Fernando Alonso’s McLaren bounce off his cockpit halo bar, which was introduced to protect drivers’ heads from impacts.
Leclerc also suffered issues with his DRS yesterday which limited his running.
There was no such drama for Lewis Hamilton, who admitted he ALL-CLEAR: Ericsson OK at Monza nodded off during a wet morning session in which he only managed six laps. “It was like having a day in the office when you don’t have too much work to do,” he said.
“I was even snoozing in the car at one point!”
But trying to close the gap to Ferrari sharpened Hamilton’s mind on a dry track in second practice. Just as in Spa, it looks like Ferrari’s power advantage could prove too big a gap to bridge.
Despite sliding off the track at the famous high-speed Parabolica bend, Vettel ended the day top of the pile ahead of Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. Hamilton’s best effort was good enough for third.
The prospect of driving the Italian fans wild tomorrow with a Ferrari one-two is looming large.
Such a result would see a large chunk taken out of Hamilton’s 17-point championship lead over Vettel.
Hamilton did not attempt to hide the fact the balance of power has shifted back in Ferrari’s favour.
“We’re all working flat out right now,” he said. “It will be a very close fight tomorrow.”