Williams Martini Racing have been forced to abandon the second day of testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya ahead of the 2017 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
After a successful day with veteran Felipe Massa, who completed 103 laps, it was the turn of rookie Lance Stroll behind the wheel of the FW40.
Stroll managed 12 laps of the Spanish circuit before he took a trip through a gravel trap, damaging the front wing of the car.
Although this was small incident, it could cost the team dearly in the early stages of the season as they could not replace the wing due to shortage of spare parts.
“Lance was on lap six of his second run when he had a spin,” commented Rob Smedley Head of Performance Engineering “The grip was particularly low, and so he spun and went through the gravel backwards.
“Even though the accident was entirely innocuous we’ve unfortunately had quite a bit of accident damage, which we’re now in the process of repairing.
“We’re having to send some composite parts back to the factory, which will be back with us at some point tomorrow.
“We’re doing the utmost we can now to get back out on track at the earliest opportunity tomorrow. We will be able to recover the programme in the coming days.”
Lance Stroll – Williams FW40 – Barcelona – Credit: Octane Photographic Ltd
Stroll added: “It is still early days and I have only done a handful of laps. I am just getting to grips with the FW40, and there is still a lot of time ahead of us. It was good to finally get behind the wheel to just get a feel for it.
“Like I said, it is still early days, so I need to do a lot more running before I know exactly where I am and where the car is at.
“I will have a much better picture once we have more laps under our belts, but it was good to break the ice and I am looking forward to some more running.”
