The seven-time world champion said the race in Azerbaijan was the "most painful" of his career due to his car bouncing severely; after the race weekend his team principal Toto Wolff said he was a doubt for the Canadian GP; Hamilton took to social media on Monday to update on his fitness
Monday 13 June 2022 18:39, UK
Lewis Hamilton says he will drive at the Canadian GP this weekend and 'wouldn't miss it for the world', despite the back pain he suffered in Azerbaijan.
After the conclusion of Sunday's race in Baku, Hamilton said the pain he had felt due to his car bouncing meant he was praying for the end of the race.
With back-to-back race weekends and practice in Montreal starting on Friday, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said the seven-time world champion was "definitely" at risk of missing the race.
Hamilton himself took to social media on Monday morning to provide a further update. He said that he was "sore and bruised" but would be taking to the track in Canada this weekend.
"Good morning world," Hamilton said on his Instagram channel in a story on Monday morning.
"Yesterday was tough and had some troubles sleeping but have woken up feeling positive today. Back is a little sore and bruised but nothing serious, thankfully.
"I've had acupuncture and physio with Ang and am on the way to my team to work with them on improving [the car]. We have to keep fighting. No time like the present to pull together and we will.
"I'll be there this weekend, wouldn't miss it for the world. Wishing everybody an amazing day and week."
In Baku, Hamilton had experienced serve discomfort during practice and qualifying and prior to the race, the Mercedes driver had warned he was concerned about making it through the race.
Following 51 laps of the Baku City Circuit Hamilton gained valuable points for Mercedes by finishing in fourth, but struggled to get out of his car at the end and said he was only able to reach the chequered flag thanks to adrenaline.
"That's the only thing," Hamilton said. "Biting down on my teeth through pain and just adrenaline.
"I can't express the pain that you experience, particularly on the straight here. At the end, you're just praying for it to end."
I don’t know what the solution is to be honest. The majority of us are in the same boat, either you’ve got porpoising and the car is bouncing up and down and hitting the floor, or you don’t and you have to run the car millimetres from the ground and you’re hitting the floor lap after lap. Whichever boat you’re in, it’s not a pleasant one.
Team-mate George Russell, who finished a place ahead of Hamilton, believes wider conversations need to be had about the issues of bouncing and porpoising.
"You're just smashing the ground every single corner and lap for an hour and a half, it's pretty brutal. I'll sleep well tonight. It's a circuit that's not normally that physical [too].
"It's just what we've got to deal with and live with at the moment, and what we as drivers have to expect."
First practice for the Canadian GP in Montreal takes place on Friday with full coverage of the weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Coverage of the Canadian GP starts at 5.30pm BST on Sunday evening with lights out at 7pm.
