Lewis Hamilton was left “destroyed” after he failed to take advantage of title rival Max Verstappen’s 200mph tyre blowout in yesterday’s frenetic Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

In a two-lap sprint race following Verstappen’s terrifying crash, Hamilton accidentally pressed the wrong switch on his Mercedes steering wheel, causing him to run off the road and drop from second to finish 15th.

In the chaos, Sergio Perez won for Red Bull, with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel rolling back the years to finish runner-up. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly completed the most unlikely of podiums on an extraordinary afternoon on the Caspian Sea.

Verstappen drove superbly in Baku and was primed to extend his championship lead over Hamilton before his left-rear tyre exploded on the fastest stretch of the calendar. The devastating failure left Verstappen as a helpless passenger as his Red Bull darted right into the concrete wall on the start-finish straight with just five laps remaining.

Earlier, the grid had observed a one-minute silence in memory of former FIA president Max Mosley, who died last month, and it was Mosley’s drive to improve the safety of the sport, following Ayrton Senna’s death in 1994, which allowed Verstappen to walk away without a scratch.

Questions were immediately asked of F1’s sole tyre supplier, Pirelli, after Lance Stroll also crashed out with a left-rear puncture at an almost identical spot to Verstappen 15 laps previously. He, too, emerged safely from his Aston Martin wreck. Pirelli has launched a full investigation, with the savaged tyres shipped from Azerbaijan to their Milan headquarters by plane for immediate analysis.

The tyre manufacturer says an early probe indicates the failures were caused by external factors, such as debris or kerbs, rather than a fundamental problem with their rubber. Pirelli boss Mario Isola revealed last night that Hamilton also suffered a deep cut to his left-rear tyre, and was perhaps fortunate to escape a high-speed blowout.

The safety car was deployed in the wake of Verstappen’s crash but a concerned Jonathan Wheatley, Red Bull’s sporting director, urged FIA race chief Michael Masi to stop the action, fearing another catastrophic failure. The grand prix was suspended for 30 minutes while the remaining drivers took on fresh rubber ahead of what effectively became a seven-and-a-h alf-mile dash for glory.

Hamilton, second at the restart, told his team to remember that the championship is a “marathon, not a sprint”, apparently content to take the 18 points awarded for second. But as he raced away from his marks and made a move on Perez for the lead, he inadvertently flipped on the so-called “magic” button on the back of his steering wheel. 

The setting helps Hamilton increase tyre temperature for the restart by altering the brake balance, but it left him with  no brakes for the left-handed opening bend. He went straight on at the first corner in a plume of smoke.

“I am so sorry, guys,” said a disconsolate Hamilton on the radio. Hamilton remains four points behind Verstappen in the title race. 

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]