Hamilton: Teams should prevent 'dangerous' distractions

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Lewis Hamilton believes Formula 1 is "far too technical" and led to him being distracted to a "dangerous" level during the Grand Prix of Europe.

Mercedes informed Hamilton he was in an incorrect setting for his power unit after the defending champion complained he was down on power in Baku. However, FIA radio restrictions prevented Mercedes from telling Hamilton how to rectify the issue, leaving him often looking at his steering wheel to try and understand what may need changing.

Asked what it was like having to deal with the problem and try to solve it, Hamilton replied: "Dangerous.

"I’m just there looking at my steering wheel for a large portion of the lap and all the way down the straights. All they can tell me is there’s a switch error or a wrong switch position, so I’m looking at every single switch thinking ‘am I being an idiot here or have I done something wrong?’, but I hadn’t.

"I looked at it time and time again, looking at all the switch positions and there was nothing that looked irregular."

And Hamilton feels Mercedes should have been allowed to tell him what the problem was because he felt it wasn't a driver aid but a problem with the car.

"The radio ban as far as I’m aware is supposed to stop driver aids, and it wasn’t a driver aid, it was a technical issue. Formula One is so technical – it’s far too technical almost – and to have that many switch positions, it’s something that you should be able to rectify because the only people that can see the issue are the guys in the garage.

"It would have added to the spectacle if I had full power because I would have been in the race fighting with the guys up ahead."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.