LEWIS HAMILTON held his back in agony as he got out of his car following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and is a doubt for next week’s Canada GP.
The Brit valiantly raced to fourth despite suffering from back issues.
Lewis Hamilton is helped out of his car
The Brit holds his back as he walks to Mercedes’ team garage
Hamilton, 37, has been troubled physically by the bouncing and porpoising of Mercedes’ much-maligned W13 car.
As he clambered out of his motor at the end of the race, the seven-time champion could be seen moving gingerly.
Team principal Toto Wolff said to him down the team radio: “This is a bit of a s*** box to drive.
“And sorry for the back problems.”
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A tired Hamilton politely replied: “Well done guys.
“And well done on the strategy. Thank you on continuing to push.”
He then walked carefully back to Mercedes’ team garage.
After the race, Hamilton said: “The only thing was biting down my teeth with pain and just adrenaline.
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“I cannot express the pain you experience, especially on the straight here. In the end you are just praying for it to end.
“We are in such a good position still in 3rd and 4th. It is a great result and the team did well with the strategy.
“Once we fix this bouncing we will be right in the race because we are losing for sure a second just with bouncing.
“I’ll be at the factory tomorrow for some good discussions to keep pushing.”
Quizzed if Hamilton is a doubt for Canada next week, Wolff admitted: “Yeah definitely. You can see that it is not muscular, it goes properly deep into the spine and there are some consequences.
“The solution could be to have someone on reserve, which we do at any race.”
Hamilton is desperate for Mercedes to make adjustments to their car ahead of next week’s Canada Grand Prix.
The Brit, should he be fit to participate, will enter the race sixth in the driver standings – 78 points behind leader Max Verstappen.
Reigning champion Verstappen cruised to victory in Baku, with both Ferrari’s retiring early due to engine issues.
Sergio Perez came second, while Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell grabbed the last place on the podium, extending his run of having finished in the top five of every race this season.
After the race, Russell told Sky Sports: “It wasn’t nice. I was pretty pleased to see the race come to a close. Every single corner of every single lap, it was pretty brutal. I will sleep well tonight. Pleased to be on the podium.
“Canada… It is just what we have to deal with at the moment. There isn’t going to be any short term changes but there will be conversations on what the long term future of what these regulations hold.
“Let’s see. We have a lot of brilliant engineers so I am sure we will find a solution.
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“Support… I don’t know what the solution is. Majority of us are in the same boat. Either you have got porpoising, bouncing up and down and hitting the floor or you don’t.
“And you have to run the car millimeters from the ground and you are just hitting the floor lap after lap. Whatever boat you are in it is not a pleasant one.”
George Russell earned his third podium of the season, alongside Verstappen and Perez
