Lewis Hamilton’s first competitive action since winning the world championship lasted less than two minutes as he crashed out of qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Hamilton, who clinched his fourth Formula One title at the last race in Mexico, lost control of his Mercedes at 260km/h through turn six of the Interlagos circuit before thudding into the tyre barrier.
The 32-year-old Englishman remained in his cockpit for some moments before informing his team that he was not injured in the high-speed smash.
Hamilton’s car sustained significant damage in the incident, and he will now start Sunday’s race, the penultimate of the season, from the back of the field.
Earlier, Valtteri Bottas denied his Mercedes teammate a sweep of the Brazilian Grand Prix practice timesheets with the fastest time in the final session.
The Finn lapped the Interlagos circuit in 1 minute 09.281 seconds on Sunday, a mere 0.003 quicker than four-time Formula One world champion Hamilton who had been fastest throughout Friday. Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo was fifth in Saturday’s final session.
Hamilton set a track record of 1:09.202 in Friday’s first session.