Lewis Hamilton says the braking issue that disrupted her second practice at the Emilia Romana Grand Prix was “a big problem all year round.”
Hamilton complained about the brakes across FP2 at Imola on Friday.
He expressed concern about team radio: “These brakes in the warm-up mode are scary. Buddy…it’s not brakes.”
In another radio message, he again complained about the brakes. “These damn brakes, buddies.
Hamilton finished the session 11th fastest.
Looking back on his Friday, Hamilton said: “The P1 was good. I was really happy with the P1 car. It felt like we had taken a step forward. I was really positive.
“I’ve changed literally like two of the smallest ones that should have little effect. The smallest change I’ve probably made this year. I had some braking issues that made a huge difference.
“It was a fight against it. It was actually a pretty big problem all year round. I’ve never experienced it, so this year is new.”
Hamilton confirmed that the ongoing braking issues were not related to the fact that they were using Brembo brakes on Ferrari, not the carbon industry (the ones I used with Mercedes).
“No. It’s not a transition. It’s a performance,” he revealed.
When asked if it could be fixed, Hamilton said, “I mean it’s a lottery. We roll the dice and you wear it, it works, you put another one in.
“We’ll see. I hope tomorrow we understand something. We’re working on that.
Leclerc eliminates pole challenges
Charles Leclerc returned to the paddock for practice after missing out on Thursday’s Media Day due to illness.
After struggling with FP1, Leclerc got better in his second session, finishing the day in six days.
“The whole FP1 was very careful. There were a few different issues,” explained Leclerc.
“FP2 We put everything together a little more and feel better on my part. But even so, we’re lacking performance. We know. Our weakness at the moment is the pace of the qualifying round and we still need to tackle it.”
Leclerc ruled out McLaren to challenge Paul.
“To go to pole, honestly, I don’t think we have that in the car for now, but the pace of the race was strong so it was positive,” Leclerc added.
“But (it’s) a very difficult track to pass, so we need to focus on the pace of qualifying, and that’s where we all put our effort into.”