Mercedes has outlined the cause of the failure that has left Lewis Hamilton facing starting the German Grand Prix from 14th on the grid.
Hamilton had secured safe passage through to Q2 when he suffered a hydraulic failure in the closing stages of Q1, and Mercedes ordered the Briton to halt his W09 on track.
Hamilton obliged at the exit of Turn 10 and briefly attempted to push his car back to the pits, before aborting such a plan, slumping disconsolately beside his stricken W09.
A replay showed that Hamilton had run significantly wide over the vast Turn 1 exit kerbs on the same lap, briefly catching from air as he attempted to re-join the circuit.
Hamilton explained in the immediate aftermath that he “used the kerb the same every lap, I got to the kerb, [and] just before the steering broke, so that’s the issue.”
Mercedes moved to explain the problem, commenting: “We had the failure at Turn 1 as Lewis ran the “normal” kerb which all the drivers use in that stage of qualifying.
“Then, with failed power steering as a result of the hydraulic failure, he had the “jumping” moments that were seen on TV and which people understandably thought might have been the cause of the issue – but were in fact a consequence of it.”
Hamilton later took to social media to further clarify the situation.
“To avoid all assumptions, today was nobody’s fault,” he commented.
“When I got to the exit kerb of Turn 1 the hydraulics in the steering failed. When this happened, the car pulled to the left and so I was forced to drive off the track and subsequently taking a bumpy ride before re-joining. Those big bumps did zero damage.
“These things happen and as always we win and we lose together as a team.
“Why didn’t I pull over when asked? Simple, it’s qualifying, the car was still going and I hoped with all my heart that I might make it back and they could fix it.
“In my heart I never give up so it is the hardest thing to give in and accept the car will not make it back. I turned the car off and thought perhaps I can even push it back as crazy as it sounds, that’s just me being passionate.”
Mercedes does not believe that Hamilton's gearbox or engine has sustained any damage.
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