Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton finished fourth in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon, but he had to push through a lot of pain to get there.
The seven-time world champion has had a difficult start to the season in Formula 1, with the Mercedes vehicle unable to compete with Red Bull and Ferrari at the front.
Indeed, when the Bulls were completing a one-two in Baku, Hamilton was battling his way through from a seventh-place start on the grid, eventually finishing fourth by the chequered flag after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz both retired due to mechanical issues.
In the context of this season, a fourth-place result is almost cause for celebration for Mercedes, but Hamilton was in no condition or shape to rejoice after the race, with it evident that the Grand Prix had taken a toll on his body.
During practice and qualifying, it became evident that the Mercedes had been porpoising significantly down Baku’s massive start/finish straight, with a bone-jarring ride being thrown up at high speed.
Indeed, Lewis said on Saturday that he was already in discomfort, and Toto Wolff even suggested that Hamilton would struggle physically to cross the finish line ahead of lights out.
Hamilton very slow getting out of the car, and grabbing his back. They need to fix that porpising issue at Mercedes #AzerbaijanGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/CaILwmhdsC
— Spare Parts: A Racing Podcast (@sparepartspod) June 12, 2022