Lewis Hamilton: “The hardest race of my life”

At the end of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton took a while to extricate himself from his car. Although he celebrated his 37th birthday this year, it was not his age that posed a problem for the seven-time world champion but his back. The Briton experienced pain throughout the weekend with his W13. On the long Baku straight, the seven-time world champion was put to the test by porpoising. While on Saturday after qualifying, he revealed that he had used acupuncture to treat his back pain, on the 29th lap of the Grand Prix the pain started again. 

« Yes, it was the most physical race I have ever done in my life, underlines Lewis Hamilton interviewed by Canal +. I had never felt such pain in a car before. » Since the start of the season, porpoising has made Hamilton suffer but in Baku, it was yet another stage of pain. “ It's physical at races normally, but this time I was biting my tongue to hold back the pain, but I convinced myself to continue, kept the car on the track and got there. »

🗨️ “Physically it was the most difficult race of my life (…)”

A particularly tired Lewis Hamilton after the#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿

▶ https://t.co/7plkVVV12v pic.twitter.com/odNvKZP0g3

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) June 12, 2022

With this 3rd and 4th place, Mercedes continues to stand out in the rankings behind Red Bull and Team. " It's incredible for the team. I know Ferrari didn't finish, but we are the third fastest team, despite our problems. Once we resolve them, I think we can get closer to these guys in the lead. But the question is when and if », Announces Lewis Hamilton.

But in Baku, Mercedes was still very far from Red Bull and the gap is still very significant. So to reduce it, everyone is working hard within the German team, starting with the British driver. “ I will be at the factory tomorrow and will continue to push and fix them quickly », emphasizes Hamilton. With this result and Ferrari's double retirement, Mercedes is back to 38 points behind the Scuderia. 

ALSO READ > Baku – Verstappen and Red Bull as bosses, total fiasco for Ferrari