Mercedes is thinking about the idea of giving Lewis Hamilton a car in which it is harder to make mistakes in.
Hamilton had a disastrous race in Baku. On the restart, he got off to a fantastic start. However, he accidentally pressed a button that altered his brake balance. It was a massive mistake and one that resulted in him throwing away his potential win.
During race debrief, Mercedes Director of Engineering, Mike Elliot, explained the issue that took place. He also assured that Mercedes will do everything to prevent this mishap in the future.
“Lewis did everything right,” Elliott said.
“He drove the car to the grid, turned off the different buttons and settings he needed to turn off, turned on the ones he needed to turn on. Everything was ready to start the race right. He made a fantastic start and got alongside Sergio Perez.”
While swerving, Hamilton accidentally pressed the button in question, resulting in him going off-track.
“Unfortunately he didn’t feel that he had done it, so he was totally unaware that he was going to have a problem,” Elliott said.
“At the point where he braked, which was the normal braking point for him, all the brake balance had shifted forward, putting all the load on the front tyres and blocking them. From that point on he couldn’t do anything but go wide.”
Move on, let’s race
Elliott revealed he had spoken to Hamilton after the incident, and praised him for his abilities.
“I know Lewis feels a bit guilty about it, but the reality is that Lewis makes so few mistakes and that’s what really sets him apart from some other drivers,” he explained.
“It’s our duty to try and give him a car where it’s harder for him to make mistakes. We have to do our part in that, see how we can improve that and that is something we will put in place for the next race,” he suggested.
With the French GP up next, Mercedes will have to deliver a statement. They have been on the back foot for most of the season, and will look to regroup in France
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