McLaren denies Hamilton button error

23/10/2007

Following our report yesterday, McLaren has denied that Lewis Hamilton's problem on the eighth lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix was down to driver error.

A well-placed source told Pitpass that the English driver had inadvertently pressed the wrong button (believed to be the start button) on his steering wheel, and consequently had to reload the system/software, the 'lost' twenty to thirty seconds virtually costing him the race.

However, a McLaren spokeswoman has told Pitpass that: "Lewis didn't press any incorrect buttons", adding, "it was, as Ron outlined, a default in the gearbox which selected neutral for a period of time.

"It was definitely not a mistake by Lewis," she added.

That said, our source remains adamant, and you would not believe who it was that told him about Hamilton's 'error'.