BUDAPEST - Lewis Hamilton blamed new kerbs installed as part of a resurfacing of the Hungaroring circuit for his crash in Friday's practice for this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team's British driver Lewis Hamilton returns back to pit lane after a crash during the second training session ahead of the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix at the circuit near Budapest, on July 22, 2016
The defending three-time world champion, who hit the barriers after only 14 minutes of the 90-minute second session on Friday afternoon, said his car was sent into a half-spin after clipping the kerbs.
"Those new white kerbs, I just touched them and 'whoooah' they sent me flying," Hamilton told reporters.
"There's nothing I can do about it. It's done. There’s no point in getting het up about it.
"It was a pretty hard hit, but I still love it here so I'm going to enjoy my evening and come back tomorrow fresh for the morning session.
"I watched the rest of the session today, so I know how it went, so I don't need to study it tonight. I know what I need to do, what to apply tomorrow and for Sunday.
"I'm probably going to watch a movie, I might go out for dinner, and pretty much chill."
After going off on the exit of Turn 11, Hamilton ended up alongside the barriers. He was unhurt and drove his car back to the pits where the Mercedes crew stripped it down for repairs.
"I think the front-wing endplate might have been damaged," he said. "And the side-pod wing maybe -– not a lot of damage.
"The wishbones weren't broken, but they were slightly overloaded. I could have probably gone out, but if they'd failed we'd have looked silly."
He added that he was pleased that team-mate and championship leader Nico Rosberg had topped the times after signing a new two-year contract to stay until 2018.
"It's alright -– I don't mind who my team-mate is," he said. "It’s good for the stability of the team."