Badoer crashes heavily at Jerez

The Italian, who was returning to action in a new chassis today following a crash at the hairpin on Wednesday, suffered an almost identical accident at 11.46am this morning.

According to eyewitness reports, Badoer's car got slightly off line on the entry to the hairpin and spun around under braking before swiping the wall.

The car then skipped across the grass and was launched high into the air across a gravel trap before going under the tyres at a gap in the barriers. The front of the car was badly damaged in the crash and track officials have confirmed that he has been taken to the medical centre for examination.

Ferrari's second test driver Marc Gene visited Badoer in the medical centre and told autosport.com the Italian was shocked but otherwise not hurt.

Badoer's accident came just an hour after McLaren test driver Alexander Wurz walked away from a sizeable accident himself after a suspected technical problem.

Although the Austrian was unhurt in that accident at Turn 5, his car was badly damaged. The team are currently investigating the cause of the crash.