Lewis Hamilton's off during the second free practice session for the Australian Grand Prix was caused by splitter damage.
The Mercedes driver ploughed into the gravel at Turn 6 in the closing stages of the 90-minute session after losing front-end downforce.
"I had separation of the front splitter, so it was pushed right up underneath and touching the underneath of the chassis," said Hamilton.
"I lost a lot of front end. I went into Turn 6, turned in and nothing really happened, I just went straight on.
"I was complaining of shed-loads of understeer as I was beginning my long run. I came in and asked for three holes in the front wing, which is quite a lot.
"As they did that, they changed tyres and I went back out. I was braking, turned in and it just didn't turn.
"I thought to myself, 'what an idiot', but when I got back they explained to me that the front of the bib underneath the chassis was broken."
Hamilton admitted that the damage might have been caused when he took a bite of the gravel earlier in the session.
But he was relieved that there was no more significant damage to the car.
"Potentially, it was when I went wide," he said when asked about the cause of the damage.
"Thankfully, nothing was really damaged [in the off]. It's an easy fix."
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