Watch footage as Lewis Hamilton crashes out in his new Mercedes in this week's test session at Jerez.
The Mercedes driver crashes his new W04 but escapes unharmed
Preparations for the new Formula One season began in earnest this week as 10 of the 11 teams on the grid put new cars through their paces at a test session in Jerez, southern Spain.
However, Lewis Hamilton's first public outing in his new Mercedes did not go exactly to plan as he suffered a "pretty heavy" crash which limited his running to just 15 laps.
Having just climbed to second in the timesheets, Hamilton's maiden run in the W04 was brought to a shuddering halt when rear brake failure resulted in his car slamming into the barriers at the high-speed turn six.
Although the Briton walked away unharmed, the car was sufficiently damaged to prevent him returning to action for the rest of the day.
