After the FIA found out that his DRS was not in compliance on Friday night, Hamilton had to start from behind the grid in the sprint at Interlagos last weekend.
Inspection of the Hamilton rear wing revealed that in one section, the gap between the elements was greater than the maximum allowable 85 mm.
Mercedes claims that the gap is only more than 0.2 mm, which it says is equivalent to a layer of paint.
Although there is no indication that Mercedes intends to circumvent the rules, the cause of the problem could not be determined during the Brazilian weekend because the FIA blocked the flanks.
However, after finally regaining control of the wing before the Qatar Grand Prix, Mercedes stated that it had conducted a detailed inspection and found the source of the problem.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: "We got the rear wing back. And, as we thought, it broke. It broke during qualifying. We did not pass the 85mm on the far right. Slot gap test. We are on the left, in the middle, but not on the right, which is more than a zeroth of a millimeter. This is good.
"We are not allowed to inspect it, nor can we make the argument that the parts are damaged. Therefore, we found that two screws were loose in qualifying. This resulted in an irregularity on the right side.
"And you know, this may even be bad for lap time, but it is the case. It has been reported to the butler, which is very different from the way these things were handled in the past, when you were able to repair what was damaged during the parc ferme."
Photography: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images
Although Mercedes is still annoyed by the fact that the damage was not considered, Wolff said the team will not waste time and energy to solve it.
"We have moved on," he said. "The game is over. We can obviously turn things around. I hope Lewis can get more points from the sprint qualifying.
"But that is over. I think the rules have been reset to some extent, and we will do our best for the current Grand Prix and the next Grand Prix."
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