Lewis reveals Mercedes fix for 'magic' button error.

 

Lewis Hamilton reveals Mercedes fix for 'magic' button error as he bids to bounce back at French GP

Mercedes have now put a 'shroud' around the 'magic' brake button to avoid a repeat of the mishap that lost Lewis Hamilton Azerbaijan GP; Hamilton four points behind Max Verstappen heading into French GP 

Lewis Hamilton has revealed that Mercedes have made a "short-term" fix to their steering wheel to avoid a repeat of the 'magic' brake button mishap that cost the world champion victory at the Azerbaijan GP.

Hamilton had moved alongside Sergio Perez after the late restart of the Baku race before accidentally flicking a button - called 'magic' by the British driver in his team - which changed the brake bias and led to him missing the corner completely, dropping down to 15th and out of the points.

Mercedes absolved Hamilton of any wrongdoing and said it's "our duty to try and give him a car where it's more difficult for him to make mistakes".

And at the French GP, Hamilton says his team have put a protective cover around the button so that the error won't happen again.

"We haven't moved it, we've just put a shroud around it just to make sure that you can't accidentally touch it in future," said Hamilton. "But that's for the short-term.

"Obviously the wheel's not so easy to change or to move buttons on, because it's all designed. So we'll look for a longer-term solution probably in the future."Hamilton was also asked in the press conference if the pressure of a title race with Max Verstappen - who leads the championship by four points after point-less returns for both drivers in Baku - forced the 'error'.

"Max wasn't in the race at the time... so it definitely wasn't the pressure from Max," responded Hamilton. "I don't feel any pressure, I feel pretty relaxed."

He added; "I don't even count it as a mistake.

"A mistake is when you often drive off the track by missing your braking point... into the wall. It wasn't one, it was an unforced error that was sitting there that could have happened to us at any time."

Hamilton is confident Mercedes will show improvement in France following difficult street races in Monaco and Azerbaijan

Mercedes and Hamilton arrive at Paul Ricard for the first portion of a European summer triple header in the rare position of being on the back foot somewhat, having struggled in the Monaco-Baku street race back-to-back. For both team and driver, it was their worst two races in terms of points since 2012.

Red Bull now lead the constructors' standings by 26 points.

But Hamilton said he and the team were "revved up" for this weekend's French GP, where he has won both races since its return in 2018.

"We never approach a weekend with the fact we've got a point to prove," Hamilton told Sky F1. "We know we can do better, we've had two difficult races.

"Fortunately for my positioning wise we are still in shooting distance but as a team, we've lost a lot of points to Red Bull.