Ex-boss Brawn hails Hamilton’s ‘mind-blowing’ 3-wheeled win
Former Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn has hailed Lewis Hamilton’s British Grand Prix win, on three wheels and a flat tire, as “absolutely mind-blowing.”
Hamilton’s front left deflated on the last lap while leading Sunday’s race, leaving the six-times Formula One champion 3.8km from the finish with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen chasing hard after pitting for fresh soft tires. Data provided by Mercedes showed Hamilton completed the final lap only 22 seconds slower than he had raced the previous one. He went through the high-speed Copse and Stowe corners with the puncture at 141 km/h and 133 km/h respectively and reached 230 km/h on the
Hangar Straight with the front tire already destroyed.
“Lewis’s race looked a cakewalk until the last lap of the race. It wasn’t of course, because he was driving superbly for the whole of the race,” said Brawn, Formula One’s managing director for motorsport.
“He reached 230 km/h on the straight with only three wheels, and a front left tire flailing around — absolutely mind blowing.
“He judged it to perfection to win the race by a few seconds and a brilliant example of the amazing talents and bravery of Lewis.”
Tire supplier Pirelli are conducting an investigation into what happened, and whether sharp debris or wear was to blame, with Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas and Mclaren’s Carlos Sainz also suffering late failures.