Mercedes expecting Hamilton's car to be fixed for qualifying

Mercedes believes that it will have enough time to fix Lewis Hamilton's car for qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix.

With 20 minutes left to run in the final practice session earlier today, Hamilton slid off the circuit at Turn 13 and hit the barrier, sustaining heavy damage to the front of the car.

 A statement from Mercedes read: "We will be replacing both front corners (suspension and wheel assemblies), nose, barge boards and floor.

"Barring unexpected nasty surprises, we believe we can complete all of the work in time for the start of qualifying."

The repairs rule out a chassis change, which would have required the five-time world champion to start Sunday's race from the pit lane.

Hamilton is going in search of his fourth Belgian Grand Prix win this weekend to match Kimi Raikkonen and Jim Clark, and further extend his lead in the drivers' championship.