Lewis Hamilton has caused concern amongst Formula 1 fans with his comments regarding a back injury sustained during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
In the eighth race of the 2022 season, Hamilton impressively fought back from seventh on the grid to take fourth place. Meanwhile, his teammate George Russell capitalised on a Ferrari double retirement to finish third.
Elsewhere, reigning world champion Max Verstappen extended his lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings to 21 points. He claimed victory in Azerbaijan with a composed performance, leading Sergio Perez home to secure a Red Bull one-two.
However, one of the main talking points after the race was the impact of the ‘porpoising’ issue on the drivers’ health. Although Mercedes are one of the worst-suffering teams of the effect, McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo also admitted difficulty.
“Yeah, we do have porpoising,” the Australian told Sky Sports F1. “I feel like, you know, when pro basketball players bounce the ball really low? That’s what I felt like someone was doing to my helmet.
“It got worse and worse, and I sympathise with everyone that’s had it now.”
Similarly, the porpoising in the silver arrows car left Lewis Hamilton in severe discomfort with his back.
Lewis Hamilton suffers back injury
During the race, the seven-time world champion let out an exasperated cry regarding his issue: “Argh, my back is killing me!”
After the chequered flag, fans caught a glimpse of the physical toll that the streets of Baku had on Hamilton. Worrying footage captured Hamilton in clear pain as he got out of his Mercedes W13. Additionally, he required help from his team to exit the cockpit.
In post-race interviews, the Brit still held his back whilst talking to media personnel. Hamilton even admitted that the porpoising made it hard for him to stay on track.
“There were a lot of moments when I didn’t even know whether I was going to make it and if I was going to keep the car on track,” said Hamilton, quotes via Daily Mail.
“That was the most painful and toughest race I have experienced. I was just holding and biting down on my teeth due to the pain. The adrenaline helped, but I cannot express the pain that you experience, particularly on the straight here.
“I was just praying for it to end.”
Worry that Mercedes ace may miss Canadian GP
With the Canadian Grand Prix just a week away, concern has risen amongst fans that Lewis Hamilton may miss Montreal due to his back problems. This would be particularly gutting for Hamilton, who has fond memories of Canada after taking his first F1 win there in 2007.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff did little to ease fears post-race.
“He [Hamilton] is really bad,” said Wolff via Autosport. “We have just got to find a solution. At this stage, he is maybe the worst affected from all drivers. But pretty much everyone, as far as I understood from the drivers, said that something needs to happen.”
When asked if there is potential that the Brit may miss Canada, Toto Wolff was brutally honest.
“Yeah, definitely. I haven’t seen him, and I haven’t spoken to him afterwards, but you can see this is not muscular anymore.
“The solution could be to have someone on reserve, which we anyway have at every race, to make sure that our cars are running.”
Despite the gloomy outlook from the team boss, Lewis Hamilton provided fans with a glimmer of hope on his Instagram. After congratulating his teammate on his podium finish and talking about his back injury, the Mercedes man looked ahead to next weekend.
“Definitely some recovering and hard work with the team to do before Montreal to overcome this hurdle,” he wrote in a post caption. “Feeling better already, though, and motivated to keep pushing.
“See you next week.”
Featured Image Credit: Getty