Ferrari stops testing due to Sebastian Vettel’s accident
Ferrari was due to carry out two days of wet track testing on behalf of Pirelli to fine-tune the settings of the Italian manufacturer's rain tires. However, the test was cut short when Sebastian Vettel crashed into the safety barriers.
Since its return to F1, Pirelli has been at the center of numerous controversies surrounding the lifespan of its tires. The problem is all the more glaring with wet-weather tires, as was demonstrated once again during the last Brazilian Grand Prix.
With the new regulations appearing in 2017, Pirelli wanted to have dedicated test days for testing its range of rain tires. That’s why Ferrari made its Fiorano circuit available with a 2015 mule simulating the 2017 cars.
Sebastian Vettel took the wheel for this first day while Antonio Giovinazzi, the team’s new third driver, was supposed to take the wheel on Friday. However, the session had to be interrupted as early as Thursday due to the German driver going off track.
On videos that circulated on social media, the Ferrari can be seen suddenly aquaplaning and crashing into the safety barriers. While the driver emerged unscathed, with only a slight scratch on the elbow after hitting the cockpit, the car sustained too much damage to be repaired in time for today.
It should be noted that this session took place under unfavorable weather conditions as it was only 5°C on the Italian circuit, which further hinders the warming up of the tires. It is one of Pirelli’s major concerns since the starts will again be static on a wet track and no longer behind the safety car.
