Baku (AP) – Because of the pain caused by his hopping Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton could face a compulsory break in the Formula 1 race in Canada.
This is “definitely” possible, said team boss Toto Wolff after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. The seven-time world champion not only has muscular problems from the constant blows he is currently exposed to in the cockpit. “It goes really deep on the spine and that has consequences,” explained Wolff. Hamilton is really bad.
TV pictures showed the 37-year-old shortly after the end of the race in Baku, as he apparently struggled to get out of his car. “I can’t explain the pain you have there, especially on the straight. In the end you just pray that it’s over,” said the Briton. He “bited his teeth” because of the headache and back pain and made it to the finish thanks to the adrenaline.
The technical problem is caused by the vehicles that have changed significantly this season. At high speed, the cars on the straights are pressed onto the ground until they briefly touch the asphalt and are then pushed up again. The drivers are repeatedly shaken violently.
Hamilton was probably the worst affected pilot, suspected team boss Wolff. “The solution could be to keep someone in reserve, which we have at every race anyway, so that we can be sure that our cars are going,” said the Austrian. The replacement drivers at Mercedes are Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne and Dutchman Nyck de Vries.