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Reuters

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Reuters

Two weeks ago at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton threw away a surefire victory. Apparently, he accidentally pressed a ‘magic button’ and that caused him to go off track and lose his lead. Although the good news for the team was that they seemed to have found a temporary solution, Hamilton is now worried about actually not being able to click the button.

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Speaking about the fix, team boss Toto Wolff said to Sky Sports F1 after the FP2, “Just a little cover over the button, simple as that. Now we need to find out how we can actually reach the brake. At the moment he [Hamilton] is not completely happy with how to reach the button.”

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Watch Story: Hamilton’s Early Karting career

So far, Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas have been reasonably competitive in practice. The Mercedes duo have been right up there with the Red Bulls in FP1 and FP2. The outfit will be eager for redemption after enduring two poor races in a row. In Monaco, they were forced to surrender the driver’s championship lead, and in Baku, they lost the constructor’s lead.

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Can Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton bounce back?

Theoretically speaking, Hamilton can definitely try and wrest his championship lead back. The Circuit Paul Ricard is also a track where he has performed well at, notching up two wins in 2018 and 2019. Meanwhile, teammate Bottas is keen to hit the ground running, especially after his recent struggles.

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It also does not help that his future at Mercedes is also being called into question. As it turns out, the German giants are caught between retaining him or recruiting George Russell. Speaking of Russell, rumours are growing stronger that he is inching closer to that Mercedes seat in 2022.

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For the moment, all that Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas can do is focus on the current campaign. Hamilton is on the prowl for a record-breaking 8th Formula One world championship. Meanwhile, he and Bottas are eager to steer their team to a constructor’s title as well.

READ MORE: French GP FP2 Report: Verstappen Reclaims Top Spot from Mercedes F1 Duo of Hamilton-Bottas

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Dhruv George

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Dhruv George is EssentiallySports’ foremost authority on motorsport and a founding member of the outlet’s NASCAR desk. A Journalism graduate fluent in English and French, he brings over eight years of motorsports journalism experience covering everything from high-octane NASCAR battles to the finesse of Formula 1 and MotoGP. His extensive paddock access has earned him exclusive interviews with top names such as Know more

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