Hamilton apology to team after mistake

Lewis Hamilton has apologised to his Mercedes team for the work they will have to do on his car after he crashed out of practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix yesterday.

The defending champion, one point behind team-mate Nico Rosberg in the title race, made an uncharacteristic mistake at turn 11, losing control of his car and thudding into the safety barriers.

Hamilton managed to limp back to his Mercedes garage but sustained damage to the left-hand side of his car, and was ruled out for the remainder of the second practice session after completing only four laps.

His error paved the way for Rosberg – who has signed a new two-year contract to extend his Mercedes stay until the end of the 2018 season – to post the fastest time of the day, comfortably ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, with Sebastian Vettel a distant third for Ferrari.

Despite crashing out of the session with just 15 minutes on the clock, Hamilton’s lap was still good enough for fifth.

“I hit the wall pretty hard and I definitely felt it.

“They have got those new white kerbs. I put my rear wheel just over the white line, touched that kerb, and I hit the wall perfectly sideways,” Hamilton said.

The force of the impact, measured at 12G, triggered a safety alarm in Hamilton’s Mercedes cockpit and he was taken to the on-track medical centre as a precaution before being cleared.

McLaren’s Jenson Button finished eighth in both practice sessions, but British rookie Jolyon Palmer completed only a handful of laps after being plagued by a fuel pressure issue.