Lewis Hamilton defies Ferrari orders in disastrous Spanish Grand Prix crash as red flag waved

Lewis Hamilton, along with the entire 2026 Formula 1 grid are looking to make history this weekend at the Madring in the Spanish capital.

It is the first time that the circuit will host the Spanish Grand Prix, and if he secures pole position in qualifying and then wins the race on Sunday, his name will go down in the history books.

The Brit’s competitive nature often leads him to push the limits, and now Hamilton has defied Ferrari orders as a crash leads to a red flag being waved, which could impact him making history this weekend.

Read Next: Why Spain has two F1 races in 2026 and what Madrid means for Barcelona

Lewis Hamilton defies Ferrari order after crash at Spanish Grand Prix

Qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix will take place on Saturday afternoon, but before this could take place, the Ferrari mechanics will be busy at work to fix Hamilton’s car.

As drivers were getting their final laps of practice in ahead of qualifying, the Brit was no different, but with about 37 minutes left of Free Practice 3, Hamilton would end up in the barrier.

The 41-year-old was making his way to turn 22, but as he attempted to make his way around it his front left wheel locked up and he went straight into the barrier.

Hamilton was able to get the car out of the barrier after the crash, but he had already passed the pit lane entry point, so for him to return to the pits, he would have to complete another lap.

However, the Ferrari was damaged, with his front wing appearing to take most of the impact, as it was dragged under the body of the car.

This led to Ferrari issuing orders to Hamilton for the preservation of the car for qualifying and the race, so there was no further damage to the car from it being driven back to the pits.

Race engineer Carlo Santi would tell Hamilton over the team radio, ordering the Brit to find a safe place on the track to stop, but the 41-year-old would argue his case that he could get it back to the pits.

Hamilton would complete almost two-thirds of the track before Santi explained that the race director had ordered him to stop, presumably for the safety of all drivers, after the Brit had ignored the original request.

The 41-year-old would then duly stop, and the practice session would then be stopped as the red flag was flown to repair the barriers, again for the safety of the drivers.

Lewis Hamilton’s World Championship hopes

The British driver is still hopeful that he can challenge for the F1 drivers’ championship, as he is 76 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli.

Hamilton knows that a good result, one that can close the gap on the Italian, is required in this Grand Prix, as with each race the season nears completion.

At the Italian Grand Prix last weekend, early on in the race, Hamilton dropped down the grid after colliding at turn two with his teammate Charles Leclerc, leading to the Brit going on the gravel.

Hamilton would recover throughout the Grand Prix as he finished sixth, but with Antonelli winning the race, it dented his hopes of becoming the most successful F1 driver.

This latest setback could signal the end to his title challenge as he will need to hope there is no impactful damage to his car for the Grand Prix.