Lewis Hamilton’s Mistake in Baku a ‘Serious Safety Concern’: Palmer

Mercedes had a disastrous couple of race weekends now, as they consecutively failed to deliver significant results on street circuits.

Overall, Brackley based team had a tough weekend at Azerbaijan Grand Prix. However, after Max Verstappen had crashed out after a tire blowout, the seven-time world champion had the golden opportunity to recover his lead and go on top of the Drivers Championship. Unfortunately, an unexpected brake balance setting change caused him to lock brakes on Turn 1, causing him to slide off the track.

Meanwhile, former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer acknowledged that Hamilton’s wrong brake setting is a serious safety concern for F1.

Watch Story: From Shocking Lewis Hamilton Crash to Ferrari Pit Stop Blunder: Most Sensational Moments in Bahrain GP History

What did Jolyon Palmer say about Lewis Hamilton’s brake failure?

“I don’t think I ever accidentally hit a switch. I accidentally turn my GP 2 car off in Monaco once, the lows happen. But apart from that, in Formula One, I never, never just bumped the switch and found myself in the wrong mode. And I probably think Lewis hasn’t either and certainly something that disables the rear brakes is a serious safety concern at that as well. But somehow he’s done it. I’m sure Mercedes will look into how it happened.” said Palmer on the F1 Chequered Flag podcast.

“Imagine if there was cars ahead of Lewis or he was starting third and we just ran into the back of someone’s head. He didn’t break particularly late. He had the move done on Perez. He just didn’t have any braking power when he got to the corner. So very unfortunate for him in the end.”

Lewis Hamilton on his switch issue.

Lewis Hamilton at the post-race press conference explains the ‘magic button’ incident that brought him down from P2 to P15 after the restart.

“Just on the restart, I think when Checo [Perez] moved over towards me, I clicked a switch and it basically switches the brakes off, and I just went straight. I had no idea that I’d even touched it.” said the seven-time world champion.

“So very hard to take, but mostly just really sorry to the men and women in the team who have worked so hard for these points, but we will regroup and come back stronger I’m sure.

This race ended Mercedes’ 54-race run streak of F1 points. In addition, Red Bull has increased their lead over Mercedes by 25 points in the Constructors Championship. Despite both, the drivers added no points to their Drivers Championship tally, Max Verstappen still leads Lewis Hamilton by four points.

Read More: Sebastian Vettel Happier at Aston Martin Than He Was Ever at Ferrari: Hill