© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Lewis Hamilton talks about the disappointment of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, caused by an unfortunate ‘clipping’ of the ‘brake magic’ mode switch that led to a wheel lock-up.
Lewis Hamilton finished the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in P15, after a lock-up that he suffered upon race restart.
The race was red flagged on lap 49 of 51 after race leader Max Verstappen’s crash, caused by a rear-left tyre puncture. Lewis Hamilton was in P2 at the time, just behind Sergio Perez.
When the race was restarted with a standing start, Lewis immediately passed Perez, but his front-right wheel locked and he went into the run-off area.
“Naturally, it is quite a humbling experience, to be honest,” said the Briton.
“We worked so hard to come back from out of the top 10. It was looking so good. I put everything on the line and I fought as hard as I could today.
“Just on that restart, I think when Checo moved over towards me, I clipped a switch and it basically switched the brakes off so I just went straight. It is very hard to take.
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“Just very sorry to the team who worked very hard for these points but we will regroup and come back stronger.”
Lewis is talking about Mercedes’ ‘brake magic’ mode switch, that he also mentioned over the team radio right after the race.
“Yeah, I had no idea I had even touched it,” confirmed the seven-time champion.
However, things are not as bad as they could have been, since his main rival Max Verstappen also retired.
“For sure, I think it was very unfortunate for Max. I would say today is a good strike of bad luck. It is what it is.
“We will try to regroup and come back stronger at the next race,” concluded Hamilton.
