» Virgin’s test day ends with di Grassi crash

Virgin Racing’s first day of running at Barcelona came to an abrupt and early end courtesy of a big accident for Lucas di Grassi.

The Brazilian rookie lost control of his VR-01 at the Campsa corner before slamming backwards into the tyre barriers. Fortunately, Lucas was uninjured in the crash, although his pride not doubt would have copped a battering.

Di Grassi’s accident marked the third red flag of the day following momentary on-track stoppages for Fairux Fauzys Lotus and Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari.

The wrecked car was returned to the pits on the back of a flatbed lorry, and with its rear shrouded from prying eyes and photographers’ lenses by a tarpaulin, the extent of the damage could not be determined.

The team has confirmed it is awaiting the shipment of replacement parts overnight before it can commence the repair job.

With Virgin Racing’s running thus far not only being off-the-pace, it has also been dogged by reliability issues, particularly in the hydraulics system. This loss of track time is hardly what the team needs at the pointy end of the pre-season…

[Image via ITV-F1]