Vettel crash delays Ferrari on day six of testing

MONTMELO, Spain — Sebastian Vettel crashed out of the sixth day of pre-season testing, scuppering Ferrari’s plans to set more headline-grabbing times on Wednesday.

Vettel, who was unhurt, went off after encountering what the team said was a mechanical issue in his car on the approach to Turn 3. The German driver applied heavy brakes but went straight on, over the gravel trap and into the wall.

His car was lifted onto a flatbed truck and brought back to the pit-lane under a red cover, but it was clear the impact with the wall had left damage to the front left wheel and suspension.

Vettel’s crash occurred shortly after 11 a.m. local time, with two hours remaining until the lunch break. The time either side of lunch is traditionally when Ferrari focuses on its qualifying and race simulations during the second week of testing, the parts of pre-season which give the best indication of each car’s raw performance over short long runs.

Shortly before lunch, Ferrari confirmed it anticipated to be delayed for at least a few hours while it worked on the car. As it did on Tuesday, Ferrari planned to alternate its drivers in either session, meaning new 2019 arrival Charles Leclerc is slated to step in the afternoon if the red car makes it back on the circuit. Given the extent of the damage to the car, he might not be appearing until much later in the day.

Ferrari has been the standout team from testing so far, with its headline times in the opening week leaving reigning world champions feeling rattled and admitting the Italians hold the edge. Testing continues on Thursday and Friday, with the season beginning at Melbourne’s Australian Grand Prix on March 17.