Mercedes update on Hamilton's status for Spa qualifying after crash

Mercedes expect to repair Lewis Hamilton's car in time for qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix after the championship leader's heavy crash in final practice at Spa-Francorchamps.

Hamilton lost control of his car at the fast right-hander Les Fagnes and it was left buried in the tyre barrier, causing significant damage to the front left corner.

The five-time world champion has avoided damage to his gearbox and power unit, with Mercedes also suggesting that his chassis has remained unscathed, ensuring Hamilton will not serve a grid penalty for Sunday's race.

Mercedes confirmed that the "both front corners (suspension and wheel assemblies), nose, barge boards and floor" would be replaced on Hamilton's car.

A reminder that even the best in the business can make mistakes... 😮💥

Working flat-out to get Lewis’ W10 fixed it time for #BelgianGP Quali! 💪

pic.twitter.com/049Uju9zo5

— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) August 31, 2019

Despite the long list of tasks, the Silver Arrows expect to complete the work before the start of qualifying at 15:00 local time (14:00 BST).

Hamilton and team-mate Valtteri Bottas have been comfortably off the pace of Ferrari all weekend, with Charles Leclerc topping FP2 and FP3, after Sebastian Vettel was quickest in the first session of the weekend.

Their struggles are matched by Max Verstappen, who has been generally a second off Ferrari's pace in practice.

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