Dylan Bettencourt
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton could be forced to miss out on the Canadian Grand Prix due to severe back pain.
Though he finished fourth in Azerbaijan on Sunday he could hardly step out of the car after the race, holding his back, clearly in great pain.
The seven-times world champion looked in extreme discomfort and said he was praying for the race to end.
The Mercedes team have not been anywhere near their best this year and this is mostly blamed on the excessive bouncing of the car at high speeds.
While many of the other teams have come close to sorting out the problem, Mercedes don’t seem to have any answers.
After eight races of the 2022 Formula 1 season, the bouncing is finally taking its toll.
The British driver finished in fourth spot after both Ferraris retired due to engine failures.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said the team would consider using their reserve driver in Montreal if Hamilton is unable to race.
“He is really bad,” Wolff said.
“You can see this is not muscular anymore. It goes properly into the spine and it can have some consequences. The solution could be to have someone on reserve, which we have at every race anyway.”
Stoffel Vandoorne or Nyck de Vries could be placed in the hot seat if Hamilton does not recover.
Hamilton said the race in Baku was the most painful he has had to endure in his career.
“There were a lot of moments when I didn’t know whether I was going to make it and if I was going to be able to keep the car on track,” the 37-year-old said.
“That was the most painful and toughest race I have ever experienced.”
Hamilton who is currently sixth in the driver standings said the bouncing has created safety concerns for him during the race as well.
“The thing was bouncing so much there were many times I nearly went into the wall. That was a concern safety-wise. I don’t think I’ve ever really had to think about that too much as a racing driver,” he said.
Image source: @Motorsport
