Hamilton fears the brakes during the race
After Nico Rosberg's pole position, Lewis Hamilton believes that part of his lack of speed on Saturday in Q3 lies in brake temperature issues.
Beaten by Nico Rosberg in qualifying by a considerable margin of 0.376 seconds, the Englishman explains that he experienced braking issues, although he acknowledges that his teammate drove very well.
He explains to Autosport: « Nico did a great job. [But] I really had braking issues. The left brake was always 100°C cooler than the right. It wouldn’t stop. No matter what I did, it kept locking up. That’s probably where I lost a big chunk of time. »
After Rosberg’s brake glazing in free practice, it is both Mercedes AMG F1 cars that experienced brake problems, which could prove critical during the race as was the case at the Canadian Grand Prix where Hamilton had to retire and Rosberg conceded victory to Daniel Ricciardo’s RB10.
Indeed, the English specifies: « If I cannot fix this front-left brake, it will be a recurring problem. Flat spots on the tires can create blisters. So I need to make sure to resolve this tonight. »
For his part, Rosberg is less worried: « We had a few problems this weekend with both cars. So, we need to try to fix that tomorrow. Personally, I am not worried at all. I am confident that the team will do their job, and I just focus on what I can influence. »
