LEWIS HAMILTON crashed into the barriers in FP3 as the ‘car-killing’ Madring claimed another victim.
The seven-time world champion then had a frosty exchange with his race engineer as he drove off with the car’s front wing trapped underneath it.
Midway through the final practice session, Hamilton had looked as though he was about to go fastest, but instead he put it in the wall at the final corner.
He managed to reverse out of the wall and was moving again, but there was major damage to the front wing.
Hamilton then ignored instructions from his engineer to stop the car on track and was instead trying to get it all the way back round to the pits.
He had been repeatedly told to “stop the car” but carried on with a puncture, before finally limping to a halt on track.
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The red flag came out and the session was temporarily stopped as the barrier had to be repaired.
George Russell and other drives recently expressed safety fears over the “mental” new Madring.
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Fortunately, the Thai racing driver appeared to emerge from the crash unscathed, but it sparked fears for the F1 drivers who had two practice sessions later in the day.
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Even four-time world champion Max Verstappen, arguably the most fearless driver on the grid, said the Madring was a potential “car killer.”
Hamilton said it is the most difficult track he has seen since Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
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A chaotic two-day test for Formula 3 in August saw a whopping 19 red flags come out at this track, which makes its Grand Prix debut this weekend.
To make matters worse, the red flags were dotted around the circuit, meaning there are many danger zones for the F1 drivers to worry about.
The track itself is 5.4km with 22 corners, while cars are expected to reach a staggering 340km/h (211mph) on the fastest sections.
Turn 12 has turned heads for the spectacularly banked La Monumental, featuring up to 13.5 degrees of banking.