Ferrari debutant Antonio Fuoco accepts blame for F1 testing crash

The Ferrari Academy driver, who is currently competing in GP3 with Carlin, completed an impressive 71 laps in tricky conditions, with the track drying gradually after rain in the morning.

However, the 19-year-old lost control when he touched the kerbs - which were likely to still have been wet following the rain - at Turn 1 and spun into the barriers, damaging the front-end of the car.

"Unfortunately I made a mistake into Turn 1," said Fuoco. "I lost the rear of the car and was unable to catch it again, so I hit the tyre wall.

"In another corner it might have been possible to catch the car, but this experience will help me the next time I'll be in the car.

"Until then I think I did a good job. I was pushing harder every time I went out."

Despite the accident, Fuoco said he was pleased with his Formula 1 debut and is looking forward to his next opportunity.

"It was a great emotion to fulfil the childhood dream of testing a Ferrari Formula 1 car but now I want more," he said.

"The mistake had nothing to do with the car being difficult to drive.

"I was immediately comfortable with the car, from the first few runs.

"I also found the faster I was going, the extra downforce was making the car more comfortable to drive.

"It's a shame we couldn't finish the programme, partially because of my mistake and partially because of the adverse weather conditions we had.

"Of course I'm not happy with my mistake, but I also know these things happen."

WEHRLEIN KEEN FOR WET MILEAGE

Pascal Wehrlein set the pace for Mercedes and though he was frustrated his track time was limited by the rain, he was pleased to gain experience working across the tyre range.

"It was very difficult conditions," said Wehrlein, who will drive the Force India on Wednesday.

"We did not do any driving in the morning which was a shame, especially for me because I need the track time and the experience.

"We had some positive things. I drove with the wets, intermediate and slick, so I used every tyre and I could compare everything so that was good.

"But to learn and improve, you can only do that if you have consistent conditions and that wasn't the case today, so that's a shame."