Hockenheim, Germany, July 24: Championship leader Lewis Hamilton said his McLaren team were "incredible" after he posted the seventh fastest lap time during Friday's second practice for Sunday's German Grand Prix.
The 25-year-old, who has a 12-point lead at the head of the championship, spun into a wall at the exit of turn three during the morning session, heavily damaging his car.
It looked likely that he would have to sit out the afternoon practice but an impressive repair job from his team meant he was able to drive for the final 13 minutes of the session and that proved enough time for the 2008 champion to post the seventh fastest time.
"The guys have done an incredible job," he said. "Obviously I damaged the car a lot this morning.
"I was a little bit upset with myself because when you see the guys working so hard putting the car together during the week - and then you get there and do only a few laps and then total the car...
"It was very, very slippery and what was actually a relief was when I came back and they explained to me how it occurred.
"I hit the limiter and I shifted and spun the wheels, so had an oversteer moment, tried to correct it and didn't correct it well enough.
"When I was on the grass, I was just a passenger and pretty much took all four corners off.
"So a huge, huge amount of work for the guys. They were just phenomenal. They did an awesome job."
Although he only managed ten laps in the afternoon, Hamilton was glad to have been back out on the track.
"It's good to get back out and overcome the difficulty you had in the morning," he said. "At least I've got something to work on now."
His McLaren team-mate Jenson Button finished the day 15th fastest but was running heavy fuel loads throughout the session and was happy with the lack of tyre graining and the new car floor.
"This morning was useful, because there's a possibility of more rain tomorrow (Saturday), but we didn't have a very good set-up for P1 in the wet," said the reigning world champion.
"We changed the car over lunch and I was much happier with the balance this afternoon."