Mercedes have released a detailed explanation of Lewis Hamilton’s big mistake at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he dropped from second to 16th with just two laps to go. The Brit got off to a good start after a restart of the race and was able to place himself on the leader Sergio Perez, but then drove off the track.
Hamilton finished 15th, which meant the Silver Arrows failed to score for the first time this season when Valtteri Bottas crossed the checkered line in 12th.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton came under fire for straying off the track with a rare mistake.
Mercedes technical director Mike Elliott now explains what went wrong for the 36-year-old, who is four points behind Max Verstappen in the drivers’ championship.
“At the start, at the beginning of the race, we are actually not allowed to speak to the drivers,” explained Elliott.
“So we can’t explain to them the attitudes they need to change. Because of this, we try to simplify things as much as possible. We are trying to develop tools that the drivers can use that will reduce the workload for them as they have a lot to do.
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“One of the buttons we have is called ‘Brake Magic’ to be honest, I don’t know why we call it ‘Brake Magic’, is a button that drivers can push and that allows them to get warmth in the brake.
“One of the big things it does is shift the braking balance, which is to bring the ratio of front braking energy to rear braking energy as far forward as possible, and that allows us to bring heat into the front brakes and thus in the rims and tires.
“Well, Lewis had done everything right, he got the car on the grid, he turned off the various buttons and settings he needed to turn it off, turned on the ones he needed to turn it on, everything was ready to start this run properly.
“He got off to a fantastic start, standing next to Perez and when he and Perez had some sort of position change Lewis dodged and while dodging he just hit the magic button and unfortunately he didn’t feel like he had made it.
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“So he had no idea he was going to have a problem.
“At the point where he then braked, which for him was the normal point to brake, he was in the position where he shifted the entire braking balance forward, which brought all of the load through the front tires and as a result blocked and At this point there was nothing more he could do than go far. “
Hamilton admitted his guilt in the aftermath and also during private Mercedes talks.
“I know when I spoke to Lewis yesterday that Lewis feels responsible for this, but the reality is that Lewis makes so few mistakes and that’s what really sets him apart from some other drivers,” added Elliott.
“It is our duty to give him a car where it is more difficult for him to make mistakes.
“We have to do our part, see how we can improve that and we will implement that for the next race.”
The post Lewis Hamilton feels “part of the blame” as Mercedes gives a detailed explanation of the mistake | F1 | Sports first appeared on monter-une-startup.
