©Formula1
Mercedes crews are in a frantic race against the clock to get Lewis Hamilton's car repaired in time for Saturday afternoon's qualifying session.
Half-way through this morning's FP3 session, Hamilton lost control of his Silver Arrow after putting his left-hand wheel on a kerb on the approach to the Les Fagnes chicane.
The Brit hopelessly battled his car in a series of rapid tank-slappers but veered off course and into the outside wall, heavily damaging his car's left front end.
It was initially feared that the crash may have damaged the Mercedes' chassis, but a spokesman for the German outfit said that barring any hidden damage, the repair work would only involve component changes.
"We will be replacing both front corners (suspension and wheel assemblies), nose, barge boards and floor," said the Mercedes rep.
"Barring unexpected nasty surprises, we believe we can complete all of the work in time for the start of qualifying."
Hamilton's mishap was a rare mistake on the part of the reigning world champion, and one that comes on a weekend in which Ferrari has a clear edge over Mercedes, at least on pure pace.
Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Helmut Marko believes that Red Bull and Max Verstappen are unlikely to challenge for victory…
Automotive giant General Motors is reportedly back in the game as a potential entrant in…
The opening day of running at the Las Vegas GP was a smooth but chilly…
Williams is continuing to fight uphill battles this weekend in Las Vegas as a knock-on…
It was a solid start to the Las Vegas weekend for Ferrari with Carlos Sainz…
Lando Norris didn’t hold back in his assessment of McLaren’s performance on the opening day…