Lewis Hamilton and his engineer Carlo Santi had a message exchange with a light debate over the radio after the accident during the third free practice of the Spanish Grand Prix of Formula 1. The engineer repeatedly asked him to stop the car, but the Briton kept rejecting the request.
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With about 37 minutes remaining on the clock for the session to end in Madring, the Ferrari driver ended up crashing in the last corner, causing a red flag interruption. As a result, the FP had to be stopped for more than half an hour to remove the car and fix the protective wall.
It so happens that the seven-time F1 champion managed to reverse the SF-26 and return to the track, heading to the pits – but the car was heavily damaged and the front wing was underneath, dragging on the asphalt.
At that moment, Santi came on the radio and said “warming mode, warming mode, please. If stuck, turn off.” Hamilton replied that “the car is moving,” and kept accelerating. In response, he heard “the wing is under the tires. Stop in the safest place, the safest place possible, as soon as you see the gate.”
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Lewis states that “if I can get back, I will. If I can’t, I will do it safely.” Then, Santi says “we have a puncture on the front right tire. Stop the car,” and the driver says “I see that, I see.”
“Stop, stop the car at the first gate you see. It’s the race director, he is asking you to stop the car in the safest place possible,” said the engineer, and Lewis replied that “I can get back safely.”
Santi: “They told us, told us, it’s a formal request, they told you to stop in the safest place possible. Stop before turn 12, on the left side. Stop on the track.”
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Hamilton: “But I can get back… Ok, I’m stopping the car,” concluded the driver.
