Formula 1 Hungarian GP
Hamilton suspects he may have long COVID after Hungary fatigue
Lewis Hamilton thinks he could be suffering the after-effects of contracting coronavirus last year, after being attended to by a team doctor following Formula 1’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Jonathan Noble
Edited: Aug 2, 2021, 11:26 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The world champion was extremely fatigued and felt some mild dizziness after battling hard to grab a podium finish at the Hungaroring.
After feeling uncomfortable on the podium, he delayed his post-race media commitments so he could be looked at by the Mercedes team doctor. Feeling better later on, Hamilton duly appeared at the mandatory FIA press conference and also completed his regular television interviews.
But speaking about the situation, Hamilton said the efforts in Hungary had knocked the wind out of his sails.
“I’m just so exhausted afterwards. It was one of the weirdest experiences I’ve had on the podium,” said Hamilton, who missed last year's Sakhir Grand Prix in December due to COVID-19.
“I had real dizziness and everything got a bit blurry on the podium. I’ve been fighting all year, really, with the health, you know staying healthy after what happened at the end of last year and it’s still… it’s a battle.”
Read Also:
- Hamilton suffering from "dizziness, fatigue" after Hungarian GP
- Wolff stands by decision to not pit Hamilton before F1 restart
- Aston Martin set to appeal Vettel Hungary F1 disqualification
Hamilton revealed that the Hungary issue was not the first time that he has felt more fatigue than normal this year, as he suspects that long COVID – where virus victims suffer tiredness for months after catching coronavirus – could be at play.
“I haven’t spoken to anyone particularly about it but I think it is lingering,” he said. “I remember the effects of when I had it, and training’s been different since then. The levels of fatigue that you get is different and it’s a real challenge.
“I will just continue to try and train and prepare the best way I can. Maybe it’s hydration, I don’t know, but I’ve definitely not had that experience. I had that something similar in Silverstone but this is way worse.”
Race winner Esteban Ocon said he was not surprised that Hamilton felt so tired, with the Frenchman reckoning the heat and track layout made racing on Sunday a real challenge.
“It was really a hard race,” said the Alpine driver. “In general, on this track, with the heat, the humidity, the corners and you get the combination.
“You don’t have a breather here, so you need to really fight the car until the end. I feel flat, I feel completely dead as well. It’s not that Lewis has a certain issue or not, but I tell you, I will have a good sleep tonight as well.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Alonso taught Hamilton the F1 racing line in Hungarian GP
Next article Bottas: Nothing I could do to avoid causing F1 smash after mistake
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jonathan Noble
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
Formula 1
Formula 1
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Formula 1
Formula 1
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
More from
Lewis Hamilton
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Why Ferrari caved in to Lewis Hamilton’s failed Singapore F1 gamble
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Why Ferrari caved in to Lewis Hamilton’s failed Singapore F1 gamble
More from
Mercedes
Christian Horner admits that F1 rivalry with Toto Wolff became "theatre"
Formula 1
Formula 1 1 h
Christian Horner admits that F1 rivalry with Toto Wolff became "theatre"
‘I’ll put a pillow under his butt’ – How Toto Wolff wants to solve Kimi Antonelli’s track limits problem
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
‘I’ll put a pillow under his butt’ – How Toto Wolff wants to solve Kimi Antonelli’s track limits problem
Latest news
Pedro Acosta: "I'm going to Ducati to learn from Marc Marquez, not to beat him on same bike"
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Indonesian GP
13 min
Pedro Acosta: "I'm going to Ducati to learn from Marc Marquez, not to beat him on same bike"
Christian Horner admits that F1 rivalry with Toto Wolff became "theatre"
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 1 h
Christian Horner admits that F1 rivalry with Toto Wolff became "theatre"
Spire, Chris Gabehart reject Joe Gibbs Racing premise on deleted texts
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
7 h
Spire, Chris Gabehart reject Joe Gibbs Racing premise on deleted texts
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe