Mercedes makes "short-term fix" to 'magic button' after Baku
Mercedes has fitted a “shroud” around the ‘magic’ brake bias-altering button on its Formula 1 car’s steering wheel as a “short term” adaptation following Lewis Hamilton’s Baku restart problem.
The world champion had just moved into position to retake the lead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the race’s second standing start following Max Verstappen’s tyre-failure induced crash.
As he braked just in front of eventual winner Sergio Perez, Hamilton’s left-front wheel locked heavily and he had to take to the run-off area beyond the Baku track’s first corner, falling to the rear of the pack, where he finished.
Hamilton quickly suspected he had somehow reactivated the ‘brake magic’ system Mercedes employs to help its drivers generate tyre temperature ahead of restarts and standing starts.
The team later confirmed he had “just clipped the magic button" as he "swerved" past Perez off the line, per Mercedes' technology director Mike Elliott, and Hamilton revealed that the Black Arrows squad has now made a modification to its steering wheels ahead of this weekend’s French GP.
“We haven't moved it, [but] we've just put a shroud around it just to make sure that you can't, I can't, accidentally touch it in future,” Hamilton explained.
“But that's for the short term.
“It's obviously the [steering] wheel, it's not so easy to change or to move buttons. It was all designed [a certain way]. So, we'll look for a longer term solution probably in the future.”
Hamilton also stated that he does not consider the restart incident in Baku, which cost him the chance to gain at least 18 points on the non-scoring Verstappen, to be his mistake.
“It definitely wasn't under pressure from Max!” Hamilton said of the incident, which occurred when Verstappen was in the Baku track’s medical centre for checks following his high-speed crash.
“And I don't even count it as a mistake. I don't know what the one before that was.
“But I don't feel any pressure, I feel pretty relaxed and can't always be perfect.
“A mistake is when you often drive off the track through your braking point or hitting the wall, but it wasn't one.
“It was a kind of an unforced error, but it's something that we had that was sitting there, that could have happened at any point.
“Unfortunately, it is pretty hard [what happened]. But we learn from the experience and we move forwards.”
Mercedes W12 steering wheel, rear view
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Share Or Save This Story
Who is Kimi Antonelli, F1 sprint polesitter at just 18?
Why Bottas has the edge over Perez in 2026 F1 return race
What if Red Bull solved its second-car problem with a paint job?
Nike could return to Formula 1 for first time since Michael Schumacher era
How Williams wants to avoid a repeat of its 2026 “disaster” next year
2026 Singapore Grand Prix: Guide to schedule, driver meet-ups, and race week parties
Jeb Burton joins RSS Racing, will drive father Ward Burton's No. 22
Three kings: F1's generational stars shone at Sepang
How F1 let a golden opportunity slip at Sepang
How the Bahrain GP in Malaysia exposed Red Bull’s hidden resurgence
You Ask The Questions: Emerson Fittipaldi
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments