Mercedes say Brembo not to blame for brake failure

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium - The Mercedes Formula One team have cleared Italian brake manufacturer Brembo of blame for a disc failure that caused Lewis Hamilton to crash in qualifying for last month's German Grand Prix.

The team said in a joint statement with Brembo at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday that they had reached definitive conclusions after an investigation and were happy to use their products again in race conditions.

"Both parties can now confirm that the quality of the disc material was not a contributory factor," they said. "Instead, extensive analysis and experimentation has demonstrated that the specific interaction between the structure of the brake material in question and the brake mounting on the F1 W05 Hybrid was at the root of the failure.

"Counter measures have already been applied to both the disc geometry and the mounting to ensure there can be no repeat of the failure." Hamilton, who is battling team mate Nico Rosberg for the title, crashed heavily at Hockenheim in the first phase of qualifying.

Mercedes blamed the accident on the failure of a new front right disc and expressed concerns about the material. Rosberg qualified on pole for the same race but was using different discs manufactured by French company Carbon Industrie.

Both drivers again used the Carbon Industrie front discs in qualifying at Spa on Saturday but Hamilton complained afterwards that his had suffered 'glazing'.

The Briton, 2008 world champion, qualified second with Rosberg again on pole.