Mercedes Blames Brembo After Hamilton Brake Failure at Hockenheim
A shattered Brembo brake disc sent Lewis Hamilton into the barriers during German GP qualifying, leaving Mercedes furious and forcing a last-minute switch for race day.
Lewis Hamilton’s qualifying session for the 2014 German Grand Prix ended in the barriers after the left front Brembo brake disc on his Mercedes failed at high speed. The crash, which left Hamilton bruised and winded, forced Mercedes to publicly criticise the Italian brake supplier and triggered emergency changes ahead of Sunday’s race at Hockenheim.
Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda described the repeat failure as "unacceptable" and confirmed the team would not use Brembo discs in the race. Mercedes had already experienced a similar issue with Nico Rosberg’s car during testing in Barcelona earlier in the season. Lauda said that, although Brembo had promised to reinforce the material after the earlier incident, the recurrence left the team with no confidence in the product’s safety.
The failure came after Mercedes mechanics switched Hamilton’s car from Carbon Industries to Brembo discs between final practice and qualifying, a routine procedure based on driver preference. Both Hamilton and Rosberg choose their brake suppliers according to feel, with Brembo typically offering a more aggressive bite. Mercedes technical management stated that the disc’s characteristics did not explain or excuse the catastrophic failure.
Emergency brake change triggers penalty risk
With the cause of the failure undetermined, Mercedes decided to revert Hamilton’s car to the Carbon Industries discs used by Rosberg for the race. This switch, made after the start of qualifying, contravenes parc fermé regulations. Unless the stewards grant an exemption on safety grounds, Hamilton will be required to start from the back of the grid at Hockenheim, compounding the damage to his title challenge.
Mercedes argued that the change should be allowed given the clear safety implications. Team principal Toto Wolff said it was impossible to determine the precise cause of the disc failure in the available time, and the team would not risk a repeat incident in the race.
Brembo’s 2014 F1 problems wider than Mercedes
Brembo’s issues have not been limited to Mercedes this season. According to reports, Toro Rosso, Sauber, Marussia and Caterham have all experienced brake problems with the Italian supplier’s products in 2014. Ferrari, also a Brembo customer, avoided trouble by stockpiling 2013-specification discs for their cars. It is understood Brembo was forced to change one of its material suppliers recently, which may have contributed to the failures.
