Lewis Hamilton was in extreme pain after racing around Baku’s bumpy street circuit. But, an F1 rule prohibited him from climbing out his Mercedes.
Lewis Hamilton risked incurring the wrath of Formula 1 stewards if he accepted help getting out of his Mercedes at the end of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix – despite the agony he was in.
The porpoising effect meant that the seven-time world champion had to endure a lot of pain as the Mercedes low-ride Mercedes repeatedly crashed into the ground. Baku’s street circuit is bumpier than other venues, making it particularly difficult.
He complained to me after practice on Friday that he felt ill. “sore”Before revealing later that he needed physiotherapy, acupuncture and back surgery, “a real mess”. The worst part of the race was 51 continuous laps, with the Briton complaining about the pain. “killing” him.
He finished fourth in spite of his pain and car’s performance issues. Hamilton paid the price. He felt the effects of the racing adrenaline and the bounce afterward.
Sky Sports cameras recorded the struggle he had to get out of his Mercedes after he stopped his car at Parc Ferme. After climbing out of the cockpit, the man sat down by the car’s head and held his stomach, not trying to hide his discomfort.
There were so many people around him, that many online fans wondered why none of them would have offered their help to the racing legend in getting out of the car. Parc Ferme regulations preventing this from happening prevented the F1 rulebook from giving the answer.
To prevent any form of tampering, no one is permitted to touch a driver except the stewards. Hamilton did not initially receive assistance from anyone, but a photo showed a team member reaching out to Hamilton and offering his help, which could be a problem for the FIA.
Toto Wolff, Toto’s manager suggested that the Briton may not be able race at the Canadian Grand Prix next weekend due to the severity of his pain. “You can see that it is not muscular, it goes properly deep into the spine and there are some consequences,”He said. “The solution could be to have someone on reserve, which we do at any race.”
Hamilton later explained how he was able to perform such a strong performance, even though he clearly felt uncomfortable. He revealed the following after returning to the paddock for media duties: “The only thing was biting down my teeth with pain and just adrenaline.
“It is hard to express the pain that you feel, especially here. It is all about wishing it would end. We are still in good shape in 3rd and 4. This is a fantastic result. The team executed the strategy well. We will win the race if we can fix our bouncing.