Raikkonen to rest after crash test
 |  Raikkonen in action shortly before his crash drama |
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LONDON, England -- McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen crashed on Tuesday while testing the Formula One team's new car at the Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, near Barcelona.
The Mercedes-powered team said Raikkonen had suffered a badly bruised thumb in the accident and would rest on Wednesday.
"We think a foreign body got jammed between the brake caliper and the inside of a wheel rim, machining a groove which caused an immediate failure," said a spokeswoman.
Witnesses said the car snapped across the track at turn 11, hitting the barriers heavily and spinning to a halt at the pitlane entrance.
The Finn, who had set the second fastest time of the day, was checked at the circuit before being released.
McLaren said they hoped to have Raikkonen's car repaired on Wednesday, with Spanish test driver Pedro de la Rosa taking over his duties.
Minardi's man
Austrian Patrick Friesacher will drive for Minardi this season, the Formula One team said on Tuesday.
"It is the realisation of a long-held dream to be in Formula One," said the 24-year-old in a statement issued to coincide with a news conference in Austria.
Friesacher will partner Dutch driver Christijan Albers in the Minardi team with the season starting in Australia on March 6.
Stewart cuts back
Ex-world champion Jackie Stewart is to stand back from the day-to-day running of the British Racing Drivers' Club which owns the Silverstone F1 circuit.
The Scot, three-times F1 champion, said in a statement that he was happy to remain as president in an "ambassadorial position" but could no longer devote so much time to the job because of other professional commitments.
Stewart's role at the BRDC has been in the spotlight since the board voted to remove chairman Ray Bellm, a key figure in negotiations to ensure the British Grand Prix's future at Silverstone.
Bellm spoke later of "dissent and disillusion" within the BRDC and talked about mobilising members to oust Stewart from one of the most high-profile jobs in British motorsport.
The next annual general meeting is at the end of May.
