- World champion says Azerbaijan error not due to tight title race
- ‘I don’t even count it as a mistake’
Lewis Hamilton has insisted he is not wilting under pressure in his Formula One world championship fight with Max Verstappen. Hamilton made an uncharacteristic and costly mistake at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix but, speaking before Sunday’s French race, said he remained relaxed and had dismissed the incident. The world champion also entered the fierce debate over recent tyres failures, intimating that rival teams, not manufacturer Pirelli, were responsible.
Hamilton had been set to take a likely second place in Baku when he accidentally nudged the button adjusting his brake bias on a restart causing him to lock up, go off and finish in 15th. He trails Red Bull’s Verstappen by four points in the championship in a closely contested season, the first time the two drivers have been in the title fight.
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