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McLaren Team Member Dispatched from the UK to Fix Hamilton's Wing

Lewis Hamilton's crash in the first practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix, on Friday, apparently caused much more damage than initially reported. According to a report from the GMM news agency, citing German publication Auto Motor und Sport, the damage sustained by Hamilton's car required new parts to be flown all the way from Woking, the team's HQ in Great Britain.

The worst part about the crash was that the car's new wing's left endfence has been broken, and the only such part still available is the one present on Jenson Button's car. And since both drivers are fighting for the championship and another Red Bull-type of controversy (Silverstone) is the last thing the team needs right now, the only solution is to have a Woking based team member dispatched on a 9,000 kilometre race from Britain to Suzuka.

According to the report, the team member will bring the new endplates in his hand-luggage and must reach the Suzuka circuit in time, before the parc ferme closes tomorrow. Meaning he has 21 hours to make the journey from Great Britain to Suzuka. He was apparently dispatched shortly after the team found out about Hamilton's car damage.

In the meantime, Hamilton's car was repaired in time for the Brit to complete approximately 8 laps of the second practice session, on Friday afternoon. During the late stages of P2, his MP4-25 was fitted with old-spec endplates, which explains his 13th place in the timing reports.

Nevertheless, that wasn't the only reason why Hamilton performed so poorly this afternoon, as it was reported that his chassis was also damaged as a result of the morning crash. The team mechanics managed to complete a patch-up job on the car for Ham to run a few laps in P2, but work on a new MP4-25 will continue overnight.
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