Lewis Hamilton has explained the sequence of events behind his brake failure that led to his retirement from the Spanish Grand Prix.
Hamilton retired on Lap 7 of 57 in Madrid after the SF-26 machine suffered a brake failure, with Hamilton going off at Turn 20 as he struggled to slow the Ferrari down after early battles with Max Verstappen.
Hamilton had been the only driver to complete every grand prix and Sprint race lap in 2026 prior to the retirement, which is his first since the 2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
It is the first time since the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix that Hamilton has suffered a brakes-related retirement, and is the 35th retirement of his career in his 394th start.
"I had a good start, I didn't see Max, and I wasn't in the battle going down to Turn 5," Hamilton told media, including RacingNews365.
"But then I went into Turn 5, I hit the brake, and it started stopping okay, and then the pedal took a step, and it wouldn't stop all of a sudden.
"I ended up going wide, and that's when I tapped the barrier, but it didn't really feel bad, like a bad touch.
"Then the pedal came back, and it was fine for the next corners, and things were looking okay, and then the pedal went long."
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Hamilton addresses Verstappen battle
As for Verstappen's complaints about the move at Turn 1, when presented with what the Red Bull driver had said, Hamilton offered a short reply.
"Well, I thought it was pretty good racing, to be honest," the Ferrari driver replied.
Also interesting:
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