Wolff confirms: “Nico and Lewis completed the race without brake by wire”

The aerodynamic innovations introduced by Mercedes during the last race weekend in Bahrain caused a series of problems with the braking system of the W06 Hybrids of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. In an interview given to the columns of Autosport, Toto Wolff, team principal of the German Scuderia, explained that the two Mercedes standard bearers suffered numerous brake by wire problems during Sunday's race, a factor that allowed Ferrari to finish the Grand Prix "only" three seconds from the top of the standings.

Wolff explained that the innovations introduced in Sakhir caused the entire braking system of the two very fast W06s to fail, so much so that the BBW stopped working immediately after half the race. Furthermore, the dubbing and close duels with the Ferrari drivers worsened a situation that was already quite problematic from the start.

Here are the words of Toto Wolff: “We encountered some problems during the central phase of the race, when Nico and Lewis found themselves in lapping conditions. The problems increased when we had to push to stem Kimi's return towards the end of the Grand Prix. The innovations introduced in Bahrain penalized us a bit and the braking system was significantly affected, especially with regards to temperatures.

The brakes on our cars overheated and this sent the brake by wire into haywire, forcing Lewis and Nico to resort to classification braking. This did not allow Rosberg to defend himself." he concluded.

Roberto Valenti
Twitter: @RobertoVal94