Lewis Hamilton reveals details of Mercedes fix for 'brake magic' mishap

Mercedes

Hamilton reveals details of Mercedes fix for 'brake magic' mishap

Hamilton lost the chance to retake the championship lead late on in Azerbaijan

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Thursday 17 June 2021 14:25

Lewis Hamilton has provided an insight into the measures taken by Mercedes to avoid a repeat of the bizarre 'brake magic' mishap that cost the seven-time F1 champion a potential victory in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The British driver lined up second for the two-lap sprint to the finish in Baku after championship rival Max Verstappen's tyre failure had triggered a red-flag delay, only to skate down the escape road at turn one following a heavy lock-up whilst alongside Red Bull's Sergio Perez.

It was later revealed Hamilton had inadvertently hit the 'brake magic' switch on his steering wheel, a device used by Mercedes to send the brake bias forward as a method of creating tyre temperature by transferring heat from the front-brake discs.

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Asked if the positioning of the button had been changed to make a repeat scenario less likely, Hamilton replied: "We haven't moved it.

"We have just put a shroud around it to make sure that I can't accidentally touch it in the future.

"That's for the short term but obviously, the wheel is not so easy to change or to move buttons because it is all designed. We will look for a longer-term solution probably in the future."

Hamilton not pressured by Verstappen form

With Verstappen providing a stern test in the championship battle, Hamilton has made two high-profile errors in the opening six rounds despite being largely unflappable during his dominant tenure with Mercedes.

Questioned whether he was influenced in Baku by the pressure exerted on him by the Red Bull driver, Hamilton replied: "Well, Max wasn't in the race at the time so it definitely wasn't the pressure from Max.

"I don't even count it as a mistake and I don't know what the one before that was. I am not feeling the pressure, I am feeling relaxed. You can't always be perfect.

"A mistake is often when you drive off the track through missing your braking point or hitting the wall or...

"It was kind of an unforced error but it was one that was sitting there that could have happened at any point and unfortunately bit us pretty hard but we learn from these periods and move forwards."