(Motorsport-Total.com) – Lewis Hamilton experienced an early setback at the Spanish GP in Madrid. The Ferrari driver had to retire his SF-26 due to a brake problem already in the early stages and said he was lucky to have made it back to the pits at all.
Read more TV ratings Madrid: Sky beats RTL in key target group
Hamilton had been fighting for third place with Max Verstappen at the start of the Grand Prix when problems with the brake pedal became apparent in the first laps. Initially, Ferrari hoped to fix the defect with some adjustments to the settings. But shortly afterwards, Hamilton again missed his braking points and even touched the track limits.
“It really came unexpectedly,” Hamilton explained after the race. “I braked normally for turn 5 on the first lap and the car braked normally. Then the pedal moved a step, and I carried way too much speed into the corner because the car didn’t brake as well. At the next corner, it worked normally again, and I thought everything would be fine.”
Hamilton was lucky to get back at all
But the hope of continuing the race quickly vanished. “Then the pedal suddenly went completely to the stop, so I was lucky to have made it back at all,” Hamilton further described the incident.
On the 5.4-kilometer-long Madring, which is lined with numerous walls, Ferrari did not want to take unnecessary risks given the brake problem. The team immediately called the seven-time world champion into the pits and ended his race.
“We tried to fix it from the pit wall, and then it happened again a few corners later,” explained Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur. “It made no sense to stay on track during a crazy race. We didn’t want to take any risks.”
Vasseur sees Ferrari with the necessary pace
Vasseur is convinced that Ferrari basically had the necessary pace to fight at the front. Charles Leclerc was able to prove this with his later podium finish. At the same time, the Frenchman made clear how difficult overtaking was on the new street circuit.
Read more Sainz shoots at Alonso: «He got me the penalty — as always»
“If you look at Charles’ pace, you can imagine that we had the speed to fight with everyone. It was more about track position. Honestly, it was extremely difficult to overtake today,” said Vasseur.
However, the Ferrari team principal did not want to go into detail about how many overtakes actually took place during the race. “I focus more on my cars, but I don’t know who overtook during the race. I think in this situation it’s only about track position. To talk about battles wouldn’t be the right word; it’s more about position.”
Vasseur does not write off Hamilton’s championship chances
After his retirement, Hamilton is now 101 points behind Kimi Antonelli, who leads the drivers’ world championship with 292 points. When asked if the title fight is already decided for the Briton, Vasseur remains cautious.
“Two or three weeks ago, I told you I would take it race by race. That hasn’t changed,” explained the Ferrari team principal.
With this, Vasseur apparently does not want to write off Ferrari’s championship hopes despite the growing gap. For Hamilton, however, the focus after the early exit in Madrid is first on analyzing the brake problem.
Read more Embarrassing misunderstanding: Romain Grosjean apologizes to McLaren