Ferrari Academy member Callum Ilott claims there was no pre-warning ahead of his sudden crash in testing on Tuesday.

Driving in the Alfa Romeo, the British Formula 2 racer went off at Barcelona's flat-out Turn 3, hitting the barriers at around 130mph in the process.

While admitting he must take some of the blame for the accident, Illot says the main factor which actually caused him to go off remains unknown.

“It was a really positive day other than the crash,” he told Motorsport Week.

“We’re still going through what caused the crash because it’s not as obvious as I thought it was, but we’ll see.

“I’ve always got to take some blame because it’s a crash, but we’re going to see why at that point I lost it because it looks pretty similar to any other lap.

“Turn 3, I’d done the first part of it and then out of nowhere just a big snap. No previous movement, just gone. So that’s why it’s a bit unexplained.

“There’s no difference in wind, something hasn’t broken that we’ve seen, and in terms of driving it looks very similar, so it’s a bit strange.

“For me, I was completely caught off-guard because it was exactly the same as the other laps in terms of driving."

Having what he called his "biggest off ever" on his first day in an F1 car was certainly less than ideal for the 20-year-old.

But he admits the response from Alfa Romeo has helped overcome the initial frustration.

“If you’d asked me three hours ago I was obviously a bit more distraught, but these guys have supported me right from the beginning of the day to the end of the day and the attitude towards everyone has been really helpful and really strengthening,” he said.

“It was my first day in F1 and we did have some really positive steps in the day before that with little to no mistakes before.

“I was really getting comfortable and this was a weird anomaly that happened on the fastest corner on the circuit.”