Stroll crash could end Williams test

Lance Stroll's crash on the third day of pre-season testing could prevent Williams from running at all on the final day of the first test, Rob Smedley admits.

The 18-year-old rookie spun off on his first day in the car and damaged the front wing, ending Williams' running after just 12 laps. The team then adapted its run plan for Wednesday to allow Stroll more track time, and the Canadian had completed 98 laps when he lost control on cold tires and hit the wall exiting Turn 5. With repairs required and spare parts at a premium at this stage of pre-season testing, Williams head of performance engineering Smedley admits there is a chance the team will not be able to run on Thursday.

"We are still assessing all of the damage – there was a bit of damage to the left-hand side of the car and we are having a look at it," Smedley said. "I cannot make a full judgment call on it, as to how much has been damaged and what the contingency will be from this point onwards, until we have a little bit of time and think about it.

"There is a question mark [about tomorrow] but we will be doing our utmost to get out. It is a really important day for testing. Today we had a good day learning about the car – and obviously we are desperate to continue that for tomorrow onwards, so our aim is to get the car out."

Despite Stroll having had three spins in two days so far – two of which cost the team track time – Smedley insists he doesn't view them as errors but rather as a quirk of the 2017 Pirelli tires.

"I think both drivers have talked a lot about when these tires... they are good to lean on them, but there is a certain point where they become very tricky. Felipe [Massa] lost a car on his first day because it kind of just steps away from them. I think having the amount of grip that these new tires offer and then going into some area of the tire where they are no longer very happy – it is something they are adapting to.

"Felipe found it quite tricky on day one; I've heard reports from other teams that other drivers are reporting the same thing. Back on today, Lance was really... he was out on a cold medium tire on an out-lap with a lot of fuel in the car and the tire stepped away from him, and he was an innocent victim of that happening. What should have been an innocuous sideways moment brought him around into the barrier and did some damage. That happens and we expect it to happen – there is no blame on his part."