Lewis Hamilton crashes in Suzuka

McLaren ace spanks his car at first practice for this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix...

Lewis Hamilton crashed during the first practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix today.

The McLaren driver - and championship contender - locked up his front right wheel heading into a right-hander at the Suzuka circuit, before smashing into the tyre wall and shredding his front left wheel.

As you can see from the footage below, the damage was quite extensive. Hamilton's McLaren needed a new gearbox, floor, and front and rear wings. The repairs took so long he was only able to complete four timed laps.

Later, Hamilton admitted he was "probably pushing too hard", although teammate and championship rival Jenson Button nearly suffered at exactly the same corner.
We'll be updating more on this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix so check back on TopGear.com for all the latest.

In other F1-type news, Porsche has said it can 'afford F1'. Chairman Matthias Muller confirmed at the Paris motor show Porsche is having a 'round-table discussion' to check out the pros and cons.

1. Will Hamilton's death-or-glory racing style be his end or his greatest strength? 2. Would you have him any other way? 3. Would you want a factory Porsche team in F1?

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