FORMER world champion Lewis Hamilton stayed upbeat despite crashing his new Mercedes racer after 18 laps on day one of pre-season testing at Jerez in Spain.

     

The accident was caused by a front-wing failure, according to his team, who had only unveiled the car earlier in the day.
“It’s unfortunate to end the day early when everyone has worked so hard," said Hamilton.
"But we’ll make that track time back and it’s better to have these things happen now than in Melbourne.”
The new season gets under way in Australia on 16 March.