‘It’s killing me’: Lewis Hamilton in agony after driving bouncing Mercedes at Azerbaijan GP

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton is racing to be fit for next weekend’s race after claiming his dodgy car is “killing” him.

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - JUNE 11: Seventh placed qualifier Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes talks to the media in the Paddock after qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on June 11, 2022 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton has claimed that his dodgy Mercedes is “killing” him.

The British driver suffered agonising back pain in his bouncing car at Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix and there were fears he could miss next weekend’s race in Canada, The Sun reports.

During the Baku contest, in which Hamilton bravely finished fourth, he complained on the radio: “Argh, my back is killing me.”

Watch Every Practice, Qualifying & Race of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship™ Live on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >

He had to be helped out of his car, which Mercedes chief Toto Wolff described as a “s***box” after the race.

“That was the most painful race I’ve experienced,” Hamilton said.

“There were a lot of moments where I didn’t know if I was going to make it to the end.

“Or whether I was going to keep the car on track as at high speed I nearly lost it several times. The battle with the car was intense.

“The thing was bouncing so much, there were so many times I was nearly going into the wall, that was a concern safety-wise — 180mph smashing into the wall.

“I don’t think I’ve ever really had to think about that as a racing driver, keeping it out of the wall at that high speed — a very strange experience.

“The only thing was biting down my teeth with pain and just adrenaline.

“I cannot express the pain you experience, especially on the straight here. In the end you are just praying for it to end.”

Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain. Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images

Hamilton now faces a race to be fit for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal this week.

Last night he vowed to battle on, tweeting: “Even when it’s painful, still we rise. Thanks for the love, see you all next week.”

Earlier he said: “I’ve been doing cryotherapy and you go in there for four minutes and it’s bloody cold. I am biting down and just gritting.

“I have to think of all the people that rely on me to get those points, so that’s what I focused on.

“But this is definitely the worst for me.”

When quizzed if he was worried whether Hamilton would be able to race in Montreal, Wolff said: “Definitely. You can see it is not muscular, it goes deep into the spine.

“The solution could be to have someone on reserve, which we do at any race.”

Mercedes teammate George Russell was third, behind Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

Russell had declared the bouncing cars — a consequence of new design rules — an accident waiting to happen.

“It wasn’t nice. I was pleased to see the race come to a close,” he said.

“Every single corner of every single lap — it was pretty brutal.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission