Video: Hamilton faces an incident during the final practice for the Spanish Grand Prix

British driver Lewis Hamilton, racing for Ferrari, crashed during the final practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday at the new Madrid circuit, causing the session to be halted about half an hour before it was scheduled to end.

The seven-time world champion lost control of his car after its tires stopped spinning, sliding into the barriers at the final corner.

Hamilton managed to reverse and then attempted to drive the damaged Ferrari to the pit lane, covering nearly a full lap despite his team's instructions to stop.

The team communicated via radio: "Stop the car. Pull over in the safest place," while Hamilton replied: "If I can get back, I will, and if I can't, I'll do it safely."

The British driver eventually stopped after the front wing remained stuck under the car, which also suffered a puncture to its front right tire, before returning to the pit lane on a small motorcycle.

The crash caused a red flag and temporarily halted the practice session to repair the barriers, before resuming with about 15 minutes left.

At the time of the incident, Hamilton was in fourth place on the list of fastest drivers, while his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets.

The upcoming qualifying session is crucial ahead of Sunday’s race, given the difficulty of overtaking on the new circuit and the proximity of the walls to the track.

Mercedes driver George Russell noted that the circuit allows for less margin for error compared to the Monaco race, even though the speeds are higher.