Analysis

Formula 1

The changes that will help Mercedes avoid more 'magic button' trouble

Lewis Hamilton's magic button fumble in Baku may have been a rare mistake from the seven-time Formula 1 world champion, but Mercedes says it can do more to help him.

Matt Somerfield

Edited: Jun 21, 2021, 8:45 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Mercedes W12 steering wheel detail

Giorgio Piola's F1 technical analysis

Giorgio Piola is the preeminent Formula 1 technical journalist. View our full selection of Giorgio's technical illustrative content

The Briton had surged into the lead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the red flag restart, but he slid down the Turn 1 escape road after a triggering of his 'brake magic' system moved all the braking force to his front wheels.

While Hamilton immediately confessed to his error, Mercedes says it cannot shirk its own responsibilities in providing a car that is more foolproof.

Mercedes' technology director Mike Elliott admitted as much in the team's post race debrief video.

"Lewis makes so few mistakes and that's what really sets him apart from some of the other drivers" said Elliott.

"It's our duty to try and give him a car where it's more difficult for him to make mistakes. We need to take our share of that, look at how we can improve that and that's something we will put in place for the next race."

The likely solution for this weekend's French GP may well be a simple one, such as a software change or a protective guard over the magic button, but Hamilton may also need to slightly revise the placing of his hands.

Hamilton's hand position during race starts has come under the spotlight, as the Briton regularly holds the upper left hand corner of the steering wheel as he operates the clutch paddle with his right hand.

Mercedes AMG F1 W12, steering wheel back of Lewis Hamilton

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

This means the 'brake magic' button, in the upper corner of the Mercedes wheel, is so agonisingly close to his hand during race starts – and it may explain how it was so easy to trigger during the ultra short blast to Turn 1 at Baku from the race start.

As Elliott explained: "He made a fantastic start. He got himself up alongside Perez and as he and Perez were sort of shuffling position Lewis swerved and in the process of swerving he just clipped the magic button and unfortunately he didn't feel he had done it."

Although the Baku error was the first time that the brake magic was visibly accidentally deployed, the process of moving the brake balance in such a way is not a new thing.

Hamilton has had the same steering wheel configuration since 2019, with a single wishbone clutch paddle favoured over the twin paddle arrangement he had prior to that.

The new hand position on the upper corner of the wheel for race starts coincided with the new paddle arrangement, and is clearly something that helps with clutch feel and control given that the FIA eradicated bite point finders a few years prior.

Mercedes W12 steering wheel, rear view

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Valtteri Bottas has persevered with the shorter paddle arrangement, meaning he can operate the clutch with either of the paddles during a race start.

What is brake magic?

The brake magic function essentially toggles the brake bias forward in a much larger increment than the drivers would ordinarily select.

The drivers normally have their bias set anywhere between 50-60% forward, depending on the prevailing corner they are approaching.

They can adjust this in various ways and increments via the brake balance buttons and rotary switches on the steering wheel.

Meanwhile, software coordinates the amount of braking force completed at the rear of the car by the traditional brakes, based on how much energy is being recovered by the MGU-K.

Mercedes W12 steering wheel detail

Photo by: Mercedes AMG

When brake magic is deployed, the brake balance is shifted almost entirely to the front brakes and so Hamilton inadvertently selected around 90 percent forward brake bias, which caused the front brakes to lock and left him no alternative but to run wide in the first corner.

Brake magic is considered a preparation tool and provides the driver with a means of priming the front tyres, something that is even more critical this season given the change in construction and profile, which has led to a larger offset between the front and rear tyres.

Heat generated by the brakes is radiated through the brake drum into the wheel rim and increases the bulk tyre temperature as a consequence.

This is obviously complicated by the team's use of the brake assembly as an aerodynamic aid, with some of the airflow bypassing the brakes.

Mercedes AMG F1 W11 brake flow

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

However, with brake magic enabled there's more than enough heat being generated to optimise the tyre's temperatures during a formation lap, which is what Hamilton had planned and why the brakes appeared to be smoking whilst he waited for the race to get underway.

The drivers have access to all sorts of information on their steering wheel display, with one of those options being a temperature readout for each tyre, which aids the driver in meeting their desired target temperature using various methods, including weaving, conventional braking or brake magic.

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article 2021 Formula 1 French Grand Prix session timings and preview

Next article What tyre pressure clampdown could mean for F1 title battle

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Ferrari set for crunch meeting as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc tension reaches Brazil

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

17 min

Ferrari set for crunch meeting as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc tension reaches Brazil

Who is racing in MotoGP's Qatar GP and who is absent?

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Qatar GP

1 h

Who is racing in MotoGP's Qatar GP and who is absent?

How F1’s rules got to be so complex

Formula 1

How F1’s rules got to be so complex

Kimi Antonelli: “My 2027 preparation starts now” after F1 title triumph

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

1 h

Kimi Antonelli: “My 2027 preparation starts now” after F1 title triumph

Feature

Discover prime content

How F1’s rules got to be so complex

Formula 1

By Pat Symonds

How F1’s rules got to be so complex

A water park, “not a rock star” and Toto Wolff’s words – Is Kimi Antonelli really a different F1 champion?

Formula 1

By Ronald Vording

A water park, “not a rock star” and Toto Wolff’s words – Is Kimi Antonelli really a different F1 champion?

Why Ferrari must act now after its own 'Papaya Rules' moment

Formula 1

Mexican GP

By Filip Cleeren

Why Ferrari must act now after its own 'Papaya Rules' moment

Top 10 F1 cars of the 1960s

Formula 1

By Kevin Turner

Top 10 F1 cars of the 1960s

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts