Lewis Hamilton Crashes Mercedes on Day 1 of 2014 Pre-Season Testing at Jerez

Lewis Hamilton looked to be having a pretty good opening day of the Formula One season at testing in Jerez, Spain—until he managed to put his brand-new 2014 Mercedes into the barriers.

The Brit was one of the only drivers to get anything approaching meaningful running done in the first session of the year and had just improved his personal best time when he ran off.

"

Accidente de Hamilton que se baja del coche dolorido. Esperemos que esté bien... pic.twitter.com/cKJSWNPyXD

— Nira Juanco (@njuancof1) January 28, 2014"

Hamilton was uninjured, and reports soon after indicated that driver error was not to blame, citing a front wing failure:

"

We can confirm a front wing failure on car 44. The reason is now being investigated. Lewis is fine, thank you all for asking!

— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) January 28, 2014"

"

Looks like Hamilton lost his frontwing before the shunt. No front downforce -> locking wheels -> crash! Suspension damaged in the wall.

— Tobias Grüner F1 (@tgruener) January 28, 2014"

Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013 after beginning his career at McLaren. Coincidentally, the Brit also crashed out on his first day of testing last season.

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

The season will surely pick up from here.