Skip to main content

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Recommended for you

What Verstappen did – and didn't – say about his F1 future and McLaren at Spa

Formula 1
Belgian GP
What Verstappen did – and didn't – say about his F1 future and McLaren at Spa

“A shock to the system” – Why teams fear the worst with F1’s 2026 cars at Spa

Feature
Formula 1
Belgian GP
“A shock to the system” – Why teams fear the worst with F1’s 2026 cars at Spa

Red Bull parks 'Macarena' rear wing for Belgian GP after Verstappen crashes

Formula 1
Belgian GP
Red Bull parks 'Macarena' rear wing for Belgian GP after Verstappen crashes

Norris given Belgium GP grid penalty as McLaren takes new Mercedes power unit parts

Formula 1
Belgian GP
Norris given Belgium GP grid penalty as McLaren takes new Mercedes power unit parts

Aston Martin "flat out" on Hungary updates but has concerns over spare parts being ready

Formula 1
Belgian GP
Aston Martin "flat out" on Hungary updates but has concerns over spare parts being ready

Is this the luckiest F1 fan on the planet?

Sponsored
Belgian GP
Is this the luckiest F1 fan on the planet?

Smith becomes latest to top Autosport National Rankings

National
Smith becomes latest to top Autosport National Rankings

Verstappen signs McLaren junior driver van Langendonck

Formula 1
Belgian GP
Verstappen signs McLaren junior driver van Langendonck

F1 wet tyre test cut short after Vettel's Thursday crash at Fiorano

Ferrari had to cancel the second day of the Pirelli Formula 1 wet tyre test at Fiorano because of a lack of spare parts after Sebastian Vettel's accident

The opening day of what was supposed to be a two-day test to evaluate Pirelli's wider 2017 rain rubber was cut short after Vettel crashed on Thursday.

Video footage of the incident showed he ran off the artificially-soaked track on the shallow lefthand kink after the bridge crossing, hitting the barriers head on.

Although there had been some hope that repairs could be made to the SF15-T mule car overnight, closer examination of the chassis at Ferrari's factory left the team realising it did not have enough spare parts to resume running.

The decision to abandon the test means Ferrari's third driver Antonio Giovinazzi will lose a chance to gain further mileage in an F1 car, as he had been due to take over duties on Friday.

The focus of the Pirelli test had been for Vettel to give Pirelli feedback on how the wet tyres behaved, with a particular focus on their warm-up characteristics.

Issues with warm-up were highlighted at last year's Brazilian Grand Prix, and the matter has been put into sharper focus for 2017 with new rules that mean there will be standing starts after safety car periods.

One consequence of that move is that drivers will likely face having to use wet tyres with a much lower temperature than had previously been possible when tyre blankets were normally deployed ahead of starts.

Conditions on Thursday were especially tricky, however, with track temperature no higher than 5C.

Vettel escaped any serious injury in the incident, other than some minor bruising after hitting his elbow on the side of the cockpit.

Previous article Crash halts Vettel's wet F1 tyre test for Pirelli at Fiorano
Next article Is Mercedes as vulnerable as F1 hopes?

Top Comments

Latest news