May 25 2007, 04:20 PM
QUOTE
Lewis Hamilton apologised to his McLaren mechanics for causing them extra work after damaging his car in a practice crash on Thursday afternoon.
The 22-year-old British rookie had just been demoted from the top of the timing charts by team-mate Fernando Alonso when he locked up his rear wheels under braking for Sainte Devote and made heavy contact with the tyre barrier.
The impact badly damaged the front end of the MP4-22 and Hamilton had to sit out the remaining 35 minutes of the 90-minute session, dropping to third place.
Afterwards he admitted he had paid the heavy price for a minute braking error that Monte Carlo traditionally exacts.
"I have obviously had experience of the circuit from Formula 3 and GP2, but in a Formula 1 car it's very different," he said.
"I found out how unforgiving the track can be when I went off in the second session causing some damage to the car.
"I'm obviously sorry as there will be a bit of work for the guys.
"I had a very small braking error coming into Ste Devote, and the tyres hadn't built up enough grip so I made a tiny mistake, and the back of the car slipped a little and that was it.
"There is just no room for error in Monaco."
Hamilton's crash compounded an earlier setback when his car's starter motor broke and a piece of debris became lodged in the gearbox, forcing him to watch much of the morning session from the pit wall.
But despite his limited mileage - 33 laps overall compared to 60 or more for many of his rivals - Hamilton believes his instant pace bodes well for the weekend.
"Until the crash everything had been going smoothly, and we were able to set some competitive lap times," he said.
Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug noted: "Before [the accident] Lewis was as strong as Fernando."
The 22-year-old British rookie had just been demoted from the top of the timing charts by team-mate Fernando Alonso when he locked up his rear wheels under braking for Sainte Devote and made heavy contact with the tyre barrier.
The impact badly damaged the front end of the MP4-22 and Hamilton had to sit out the remaining 35 minutes of the 90-minute session, dropping to third place.
Afterwards he admitted he had paid the heavy price for a minute braking error that Monte Carlo traditionally exacts.
"I have obviously had experience of the circuit from Formula 3 and GP2, but in a Formula 1 car it's very different," he said.
"I found out how unforgiving the track can be when I went off in the second session causing some damage to the car.
"I'm obviously sorry as there will be a bit of work for the guys.
"I had a very small braking error coming into Ste Devote, and the tyres hadn't built up enough grip so I made a tiny mistake, and the back of the car slipped a little and that was it.
"There is just no room for error in Monaco."
Hamilton's crash compounded an earlier setback when his car's starter motor broke and a piece of debris became lodged in the gearbox, forcing him to watch much of the morning session from the pit wall.
But despite his limited mileage - 33 laps overall compared to 60 or more for many of his rivals - Hamilton believes his instant pace bodes well for the weekend.
"Until the crash everything had been going smoothly, and we were able to set some competitive lap times," he said.
Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug noted: "Before [the accident] Lewis was as strong as Fernando."
Source
So much for the experience on Monaco eh, young Lewis still needs time adjusting in F1 even though he has been fabulous on the GP2...
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