Hamilton crashes in Spanish GP practice and defies team orders

Lewis Hamilton crashed his Ferrari during final practice for the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday, September 12, 2026, and subsequently ignored repeated instructions from his team to stop the car, attempting to return to the pits with significant damage. The incident occurred at the Madring circuit in Madrid and led to a red flag that halted the session for barrier repairs. Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, lost control of his car under braking for Turn 22, the final corner, and struck the barriers. The collision damaged his front wing and caused a puncture to his front-right tyre. Despite the damage, Hamilton reversed out of the barriers and attempted to complete a full lap back to the pit lane, defying multiple requests from his race engineer, Carlo Santi, to stop the car in a safe location. Team radio transcripts captured the exchange. Santi instructed Hamilton to "Stop the car, stop the car, stop the car," to which Hamilton replied, "Car's going." When told to stop in the safest place possible, Hamilton responded, "If I can make it back I will. If not, I will do it safely." Santi later informed him of the puncture, and Hamilton said, "I can see that.