Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP
Wolff concerned Hamilton’s back pain could put him out of Canadian GP
Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff fears Lewis Hamilton’s back pain from porpoising could yet have "consequences" for his participation in next week’s Canadian Grand Prix.
Jonathan Noble
Edited: Jun 13, 2022, 9:53 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Hamilton was seen hobbling away from his Mercedes after finishing fourth in the Azerbaijan GP on Sunday, with his back having taken a pounding from the excessive bouncing and bottoming out.
Afterwards, the seven-time champion said he could not express how much pain he endured throughout the race, as he was forced to clench his teeth at times to overcome his agony.
“I was just holding and biting down on my teeth due to the pain, and the adrenaline [helped],” he told Sky.
Wolff said the scale of Hamilton’s discomfort after the race showed that the issues his driver was suffering were beyond the norm, as he expressed some concern about what the Briton was having to go through.
“He's really bad,” said Wolff. “We have just got to find a solution. At this stage I think 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.”
Asked if there were any worries that Hamilton’s pain could even leave him in a situation where he was unable to race again next weekend in Canada, Wolff said: “Yeah, definitely. I haven't seen him and I haven't spoken to him afterwards, but you can see this is not muscular anymore.
“I mean, this goes properly into the spine and can have some consequences.”
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG, in Parc Ferme
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Mercedes always brings a reserve driver to races, which is normally either of its Formula E drivers Stoffel Vandoorne or Nyck de Vries, and agreed it made sense to have someone in place in case there were problems for Hamilton in Montreal.
“I don't think this is only Lewis' issue,” added Wolff. “He's the one that is probably worst affected. But generally, it also affects George and many others.
“The solution could be to have someone on reserve, which we anyway have at every race, to make sure that our cars are running.”
Read Also:
- Leclerc baffled by Ferrari's recent reliability disaster
- Azerbaijan GP: Verstappen leads Red Bull 1-2 as Ferrari implodes
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 Hamilton "cannot express the pain" experienced in Baku F1 race
Next article Norris: "Tough decision" not to pass Ricciardo amid team orders
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
Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
8 h
Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium
Charles Leclerc reacts to Ferrari fear: 'We know what line not to cross'
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Charles Leclerc reacts to Ferrari fear: 'We know what line not to cross'
More from
Mercedes
Why Monza win from 19th still isn't the best of Kimi Antonelli's dominant F1 2026 season
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
16 h
Why Monza win from 19th still isn't the best of Kimi Antonelli's dominant F1 2026 season
George Russell confused by lack of pace at F1 US GP despite upgraded W17
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
George Russell confused by lack of pace at F1 US GP despite upgraded W17
Latest news
Manthey acknowledges IMSA to be "tougher than expected" despite two wins
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 8 h
Manthey acknowledges IMSA to be "tougher than expected" despite two wins
How a philosophy shift brought BMW to new heights in 2026
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 8 h
How a philosophy shift brought BMW to new heights in 2026
Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
8 h
Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium
Cleetus McFarland set to compete full-time for 2027 ARCA championship
ARCA
ARCA ARCA 10 h
Cleetus McFarland set to compete full-time for 2027 ARCA championship
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